US Govt. to run at its full strength from Tuesday

The White House announced on Monday that the United States Government will be running at its full strength from Tuesday.

As the Congress races to finalise the bill to formally end the shutdown, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement, "The Senate will head to the Office of Management and Budget after the bill is presumably passed by the House, paving the way for President (Donald) Trump's signature probably in the late afternoon, or early evening."

"All government offices that were closed earlier would start back in full capacity by tomorrow morning", the statement added.

Earlier, the Senate voted on Monday noon to reopen the Government, ending a three-day standoff that left federal agencies and thousands of people affected.

The Democrats and Republicans earlier agreed to pass a short-term spending bill of at least three weeks, to allow the funding of the government until February 8. The final vote stood at 81-18.

The three-week funding bill still needs to pass on a final up-or-down vote, but it is now a formality. The House is expected to approve the bill soon.

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised to allow a new immigration bill to be passed by next month.

For the unversed, earlier, the Democrats and the Republicans reached on a deal to take up an immigration bill that would protect an estimated 8,00,000 people from deportation.

McConnell attempted to schedule the vote late on Sunday night that would end the shutdown, but Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer objected to it since the Republicans and Democrats were yet to reach an agreement.

McConnell said that the Congress must stop victimising the American people and get back to work soon.

The House and Senate lawmakers met throughout the day on Sunday to end the government shutdown with both chambers hoping to strike a deal on spending and immigration that would reopen federal agencies soon.