Government will re-open through to Feb 15th.
Back pay will be paid ASAP.
He spoke about the wall for quite a while.
If congress doesn't agree to fund his wall, he will shut the government back down on Feb 15th.
So I’m sure /those/ employees might encourage a shutdown, but it isn’t because they believe in his cause
What may seem reasonable to one party may seem unreasonable to the other, whether or not either party shows it outwardly.
EDIT: Better yet, according to that logic, a mugging is just a failed negotiation. If the victim was just more forthcoming with their money, it wouldn't have been a problem!
Anything he wants to spend on a wall, take from the military. If you're gonna spend it, shuffle it.
Though giving in on the wall may actually be his best chance of being reelected (spend the next 22 months spinning a narrative that he tried and blocked by mean ole Congress)
Edit: I'm not being snide, I'm actually ignorant.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antideficiency_Act
This is all subject to interpretation, mind you.
On a related note, one article I really enjoyed a few months back was the decreasing relevance of the nation-state in an era of prolonged peace. It seems like solid logic: power cannot exist where it is not regularly exercised, and in an era of conflict and deadlock power can be exercised most at the local level, where the error kernel is smaller.
https://aeon.co/essays/the-end-of-a-world-of-nation-states-m...
His base wants the wall, fully funded, and no quarter given to the Democrats or their agenda. His base also believes government is corrupt, bloated, wasteful and infested with leftists and globalist elites. This is exactly what his base wants.
It does, however, make sense as a symbol of right-wing xenophobia and populist defiance against globalism. If Trump's supporters are focused on the wall, maybe they won't notice any of the other promises he's not keeping.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/203198/presidential-approval-ra...