Trump Claims ‘Big Victory’ in US Shutdown Deal

President Donald Trump on Tuesday declared victory over rival Democrats in the battle over the longest-ever US government shutdown, during a speech at an annual ceremony honouring America’s military veterans.

Trump seized on the fact that several Democratic senators broke ranks on Monday to vote with Republicans for a compromise deal, paving the way for an end to the congressional deadlock.

“Congratulations… on a very big victory,” Trump told Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, spotting him in the audience at the Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

“We’re opening up our country – it should have never been closed,” he added.

The shutdown left around a million federal workers unpaid, disrupted air travel ahead of the holiday season, and threatened food assistance for low-income households.

Eight Senate Democrats defied their party to support a bill that would fund the government through January. The legislation now moves to the House of Representatives on Wednesday, meaning the shutdown could end by Friday.

However, the move has caused a split within the Democratic Party, with senior figures arguing that they should have held out for the extension of health insurance subsidies that had been a central point of contention in the shutdown debate.

The divisions within the party emerged just days after Democrats celebrated electoral victories in three states, which had increased pressure on Trump’s administration regarding the cost of living.

Trump said on Monday that he would respect the terms of the deal, which included reversing the dismissal of federal workers during the shutdown, a key Democratic demand.

At 79, the Republican president once again broke with the tradition of US presidents avoiding politically partisan remarks when addressing service members or attending commemorative events.

He also indicated plans to rename Veterans Day on 11 November as “Victory Day” in honour of World War I, and to mark 8 May similarly in recognition of World War II.

Earlier in the day, dressed in a dark overcoat, burgundy scarf, and gloves, Trump laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington, the resting place of America’s war dead.