WASHINGTON— Today, President Trump spoke from the White House and detailed a plan to reopen the federal government after the longest government shutdown in history. Under the plan, the government will be open until Feb. 15 while Congress discusses border security measures. In response, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva issued the following statement:

“Trump presided over the longest government shutdown in history and plunged the lives of 800,000 federal workers into chaos, ushered in unprecedented destruction of our national parks, and threw numerous government agencies into complete disarray—all for his billion dollar monument to his racist policies. The President learned an important lesson through this debacle: Twitter tirades, temper tantrums, and hostage tactics are no way to govern.

“I will continue to oppose any effort that greenlights Trump’s border wall or his attacks on immigrant communities. True border security starts with modernizing our ports of entry, investing in technology, and hiring more customs officers to ensure greater economic activity—and Trump’s delusional fascination with a wall will do nothing to change this.

“Using federal workers and their families to extort Congress into supporting a border wall is a gross abuse of power, and we must never reward a President for holding the government hostage. Trump has shown he is the true threat to our democracy–not the refugee families fleeing violence.”

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