With Americans exasperated over the 35-day shutdown’s impact on everyday life, including air travel, Trump finally gave in and agreed to reopen the government until Feb. 15, without getting the $5.7 billion he had demanded for a border wall. “Perhaps he lost the short-term battle,” one senior administration official said. On Thursday night, Vice President Mike Pence and senior adviser Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, presented Trump with four options, including declaring a national emergency right away, which would let him fund the building of border a wall without congressional approval but guaranteeing a court challenge.
