US Congress unanimously votes to reopen government

Both the chambers of the US Congress have unanimously passed legislation to temporarily reopen the government for three weeks until February 15.

The stopgap bill, which has been passed by the House of Representatives and the US Senate, will now head to US President Donald Trump for his signatures to fully come into effect and temporarily halt the partial government shutdown which has been in place since December 22 last year.

The passage of this bill comes as a major relief to 800,000 federal workers who have been working without pay ever since the shutdown came into effect. Trump has promised to ensure that the workers will get their due wages, once the temporary measure is fully in place.

The US President had made the announcement about the stopgap measure on Friday, where he also announced that a bipartisan panel will be working together on a border security package.

In his remarks on Friday, however, Trump threatened to "use the powers afforded" to him by the Constitution if a "fair deal" isn't reached during these three weeks.

"If we don't get a fair deal from Congress, the Government will either shut down on February 15 again - or I will use the powers afforded to me under the laws and the Constitution of the United States to address this emergency. We will have great security," Trump highlighted.

The temporary legislation does not include funding for the wall, which was the reason why the shutdown started in the first place. Trump and the US Congress reached an impasse in December over funding for the fence, with Democrats calling it a waste of money despite Trump's repeated demands for a wall on the US-Mexico border.