Facing mounting pressure, President Donald Trump agreed on Friday, Jan. 25 to temporarily reopen the government, providing relief to approximately 800,000 federal workers who endured 35 days of furlough and work without pay.

The federal government originally shutdown on Dec. 22 due to disputes over funding Trump’s wall along the border of the United States and Mexico.
Democrats believe that the wall would be ineffective in border security.

This shutdown was the second in Trump’s presidency, and the longest in U.S. history.

The government is currently open until Feb. 15 to allow for further negotiations to be made to produce a budget agreed upon by both parties.
Speculations have been made as to whether or not Trump would use his executive powers in declaring a national emergency at that point.

With the possibility of a declared national emergency on the horizon and another possible shutdown looming, several BU students weighed in on all aspects of the government shutdown: how they think it could be resolved and how it has affected them.

“My dad was one of the government employees furloughed by the shutdown, so I absolutely hated it. There are a million and one reasons why a border wall is a very bad idea, and the fact that Trump was holding his country hostage… confirms my belief that he’s unfit to be president.”

– Tim Kirk, Sophomore Music Education major

“While it didn’t affect me [personally], both parties need to come to some kind of agreement instead of throwing a fit.”

– Autumn McBride, Junior Psychology major

“I think it was worrying since it affected so many federal workers, including people who depended on those paychecks. That emphasizes how much of a role the federal government does in a lot of regulatory things that need to be dealt with from day to day.”

– Sarah Goulet, Senior Creative Writing major

“It didn’t direct me directly… but I had family whose checks were being held due to the shutdown.”

– Thomas Herman, Junior Social Work major