Trump Announces Shutdown Deal After LaGuardia Flight Halt Rage

NEW YORK — President Donald Trump announced a deal to end the partial government shutdown after a shortage of federal workers halted flights into LaGuardia Airport. The deal will reopen the government for three weeks until Feb. 15 while discussions continue in Congress about border security, Trump said.

The longest shutdown in U.S. history started because of an impasse over Trump's demand for funding to build a southern border wall. But the Republican president threatened to repeat the episode if the congressional talks don't produce a result he likes.

"If we don’t get a fair deal from Congress, the government will either shut down on Feb. 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," Trump told reporters in the White House Rose Garden.

Trump announced the agreement just hours after flights bound for LaGuardia Airport were halted amid an air traffic control staffing shortage. The halt was lifted late Friday morning but some flights were still seeing delays averaging nearly 90 minutes into the afternoon, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The 35-day shutdown has forced thousands of federal employees to either stay home or continue working without pay. Affected workers will get back pay "very quickly or as soon as possible," Trump said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

(Lead image: President Donald Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House, Friday, Jan 25, 2019, in Washington. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)