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[B]ut it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. (Ps 75:7)

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With the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history over, the clock is now ticking for Congress to strike a deal on border security funding, for shuttered agencies to get up and running again and for federal employees who were furloughed or working without pay to get reimbursed.

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that President Trump is prepared to orchestrate another shutdown or declare a national emergency to secure funding for a U.S.-Mexico border wall if Congress can’t strike a security deal by the new funding deadline of Feb. 15.

“He’s willing to do whatever it takes to secure the border,” Mr. Mulvaney said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “He does take this very seriously. This is a serious humanitarian and security crisis.”

The shutdown, which started on Dec. 22, has resulted in a total of about 800,000 federal employees either furloughed or working without pay.

Mr. Trump signed legislation [last] Friday that the House and that Senate sped through earlier that day to temporarily extend funding for nine shuttered departments and other agencies through Feb. 15.

The short-term legislation doesn’t include money for new construction on Mr. Trump’s desired wall — a concession the White House repeatedly demanded throughout negotiations. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats refused to budge on that demand.

Mr. Mulvaney said Democrats indicated that they would be willing to negotiate on a “barrier” but not while the government was shut down.

“One of the reasons he agreed to open the government this week was to essentially take the Democrats at their word,” he said.

House and Senate leaders have named negotiators from both parties who are tasked with crafting a Homeland Security Department spending bill that is agreeable to Congress and the White House.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, Tennessee Republican, said Sunday that he thinks lawmakers can strike a deal with some money for a wall.

“They’d be smart not to recommend something the president couldn’t sign, because under the Constitution, if you want a law, the president has to sign it,” Mr. Alexander said on Fox Business Network….

“Feb. 5 is a date that seems to work well,” Mr. Scalise said on Fox Business Network, adding that he thought it was “disgraceful” that Mrs. Pelosi essentially rescinded an invitation to Mr. Trump.

Upon becoming speaker this month, Mrs. Pelosi invited the president to address a joint session of Congress on Jan. 29. She later wrote a letter suggesting that he consider delivering the address after the shutdown ended, prompting Mr. Trump to respond that he still planned to go through with the speech.

After Mrs. Pelosi wrote back to say she wouldn’t take up a joint resolution allowing him to deliver the address in the House chamber, Mr. Trump backed down.

The president also has been considering declaring a national emergency, which could allow him to circumvent Congress and task the military with building the wall….

Federal agencies affected by the shutdown are grinding back into gear after the extended lapse in funding started to take a tangible toll.

Hours before Mr. Trump signed the stopgap funding bill into law, the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily halted flights into New York City’s LaGuardia Airport amid a staffing shortage that helped lead to delays across the Northeast….

Tax-filing season starts Monday, presenting a huge challenge for an IRS that tried to recall thousands of employees to work without pay during the shutdown.

Federal employees affected by the shutdown should receive back pay immediately, said Tony Reardon, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents federal employees who work at the IRS and other agencies….

Mr. Trump earlier this month signed into law a measure ensuring that affected federal workers would get paid for lost wages during the shutdown…. (Excerpts from David Sherfinski article in The Washington Times)

The Informer January 29, 2019 PDF Text Version