Trump hails ‘major victory’ as bipartisan deal moves to end US government shutdown
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, November 11, declared victory over his Democratic rivals regarding the nation’s longest-ever government shutdown, during a speech at the annual Veterans Day ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery.
Trump highlighted that several Democratic senators had joined Republicans on Monday to support a bipartisan compromise aimed at ending the congressional impasse.
“Congratulations… on a very big victory,” Trump said, addressing Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, whom he recognized in the audience.
“We’re opening up our country — it should have never been closed,” Trump added.
The shutdown has caused significant disruption, leading to a million federal workers going unpaid, impacting air travel ahead of the holiday season, and jeopardizing food benefits for low-income households.
Eight Senate Democrats backed the bipartisan bill that would fund the government through January. The legislation is now set to move to the House of Representatives on Wednesday, potentially ending the shutdown by Friday.
However, the move has caused a split among Democrats, with many senior figures arguing the party should have held out for the extension of health insurance subsidies, which was a core point of contention in the shutdown battle.
Trump’s comments came just days after Democrats celebrated recent election victories in three states, which had intensified pressure on the administration regarding the cost of living issue. On Monday, Trump stated he would abide by the terms of the deal, including reversing the firing of federal workers during the shutdown—a key demand from the Democrats.
The 79-year-old Republican’s remarks continued his trend of bucking historical norms by using a commemorative event for service members to deliver politically partisan messages.
Trump also mentioned his plans to rename the November 11 Veterans Day holiday as “Victory Day” for World War I, and to do the same for May 8th in respect to World War II.
