US lawmakers reach tentative deal to avoid government shutdown

Trump agreed to reopen the government for three weeks to allow congressional negotiators time to find a compromise on government funding for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, to avert another shutdown.

Democratic Representative Nita Lowey said on Monday night: "I hope by Wednesday we'll have a finished product." Lowey said she had been in touch with House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who she said "has confidence I have made the right decision."

The stalled talks restarted in the US Capitol just hours before a scheduled rally in the Texas border city of El Paso, where Trump will promote his promised wall along the US-Mexico border, a proposal opposed by Democrats.

A counter-rally was greeting the Republican president, led by hometown Democrat Beto O'Rourke. The former congressman, who is considering seeking his party's 2020 presidential nomination, gained national prominence by nearly unseating Republican US.

Senator Ted Cruz in last November's elections.

In Washington, the small group of lawmakers leading the negotiations met for about two hours. They said they wanted to seal a plan by Monday night to allow time for the legislation to pass the House and Senate and get Trump's signature by Friday, when funding is due to expire for the Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department and several other federal agencies.

Agencies