Friday afternoon, President Trump announced that he would sign a bill to fund the government for three more weeks and end the government shutdown. He accepted the Democrat proposal to first open the government and then they will discuss the President’s request for border security.

It was evident on the President’s face that this was not something he wanted to do. He knew that the headlines would be, “Trump Caves.”

President Trump did not cave. He compromised. There is a big difference.

A cave is when one party gives in without fighting to win on their position. They may talk a great deal but do not put up a fight because they never intended to put up a fight.

A compromise on the other hand is when both parties come to an agreement to resolve an issue. Both parties come out of the deal with something and both parties give up something.

President Trump’s position was to fund the government and include border security provisions with physical barriers, commonly referred to as a wall. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer said, no wall.

Both made small concessions along the way. Trump’s recommendation changed from wall to steel slats that allowed border guards to see through to the other side. He later threw in provisions to address the issue of children who had been brought to the United States illegally by their parents.

Pelosi and Schumer softened their position from “no wall” to a short term bill of a few weeks to open the government. During that period, they assured the President that there would be serious and meaningful bi-partisan discussions to fund border security.

The President had serious reservations about Democrats actually operating in good faith. He did not want to play the role of Charlie Brown to have Lucy (Pelosi and Schumer) snatch the football away again.

President Trump knew that the shutdown was putting a financial strain on impacted federal employees. The strain was showing, particularly in air travel.

During the shutdown, President Trump has been talking with members of Congress. Some meetings were well publicized while many were out of the limelight.

His statement below summarizes the spirit of the compromise.

After 36 days of spirited debate and dialogue, I have seen and heard from enough Democrats and Republicans that they are willing to put partisanship aside, I think, and put the security of the American people first. I do believe they are going to do that.

They have said they are for complete border security and they have finally and fully acknowledged that having barriers, fences, or walls or whatever you want to call it, will be an important part of the solution. A bipartisan conference committee of House and Senate lawmakers and leaders will immediately begin reviewing the requests of our homeland security experts, and experts they are, and also law enforcement professionals who have worked with us so closely.

The key in this statement is the agreement to have a bipartisan conference committee. A conference committee is generally formed after the House and Senate pass a bill with slight differences. The conference committee meets to work out the differences and present the same bill to both chambers for final approval.

The bipartisan makeup of the committee means that Democrats and Republicans will both be at the same table talking with each other. They will not be talking at each other via 30 second sound bites.

The address was originally scheduled for 1:00 pm last Friday. It was almost 2:30 before the President spoke. That delay indicates that he was working on this address, probably making phone calls, and finalizing agreements up until the last minute.

President Trump wanted a bill that included funding for a wall. He believed that he could strike some agreement to get it done.

Democrat leadership refused to talk. As time went on, the focus of attention turned more and more to the impact of the government shutdown and away from the crisis at the border.

The President decided to eat humble pie. He agreed to the appeals he was hearing from both sides to open the government. The compromise agreement is in the best interest of all Americans.

President Trump displayed leadership in fighting for his position. He displayed leadership by taking action to move the issue forward. He displayed statesmanship by putting trust in both parties to work together on a conference committee in good faith.

President Trump kept his part of the agreement. Within hours of giving his address, the President signed the bill to give full back pay and put federal workers back to work.

Furloughed federal workers are no longer an issue. Now, the issue is solely on border security and funding a wall to address the crisis on our Southern border.

The President recognizes the process that the Founding Fathers built into our constitutional government. Technically, the President could declare a national emergency and act unilaterally.

He believes that Congress should recognize the crisis at the Southern Border. They should acknowledge the crisis by funding border security.

The President has done his part. Now, it is in the hands of Congress. President Trump did not cave. He compromised. There is a big difference.

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