The shutdown ended last Friday, after five weeks of uncertainty.

After 35 days of intense debate, the government finally reopened on January 25 after air traffic control officials at LaGuardia airport stopped showing up to work and airlines became too dangerous.

The US population should not get their hopes up too high, as the shutdown is only temporary, and is said to last only 3 weeks. The goal is to give all government employees back pay for the work they completed during the shutdown.  

Trump still stands firm on his initiative to build the wall. If he does not get approval from Congress for the wall, the government will shut down again on February 15. He says that he will “‘use the powers afforded to [him] under the laws and the Constitution of the United States to address this emergency.”

“Regardless of how people feel on whether or not to build the wall,” says junior Angie Lamanna, “it isn’t right for Trump to shut down and reopen the government whenever he feels.”

Robert Hittinger, a history teacher, said that he’s “skeptical that this will be a long enough period of time for Congress to negotiate.” If the President does not get Congress to agree on the issue, he will claim a state of emergency, thus giving himself enough power to decide where the government funds will go. Hittinger claims that this is an “overreach of power”, and “that it is unconstitutional” because it sets a precedent that whenever the President does not get what he wants, he can claim a state of emergency and override all other actions.