President Trump “announced a deal with congressional leaders to temporarily reopen the government while talks continue on his demand for border wall money, handing Democrats a major victory in the protracted standoff,” the Washington Post reports.

“The pact would reopen shuttered government departments for three weeks while leaving the issue of $5.7 billion for the U.S.-Mexico border wall to further talks.”

“If a ‘fair deal’ does not emerge by Feb. 15, Trump said, there could be another government shutdown or he could declare a national emergency, a move that could allow him to direct the military to build the wall without congressional consent. Such an action would likely face an immediate legal challenge.”

President Trump is expected to endorse a short-term funding bill to reopen the government and end the partial shutdown, CBS News reports.

No funds for Trump’s proposed border wall would be included in the deal.

Playbook: “Washington is in such a weird state of paralysis that no one is certain what the president might say. One option on the table includes a short-term stopgap measure and negotiations during a short period of several weeks — three weeks is what we’ve heard most often from sources. Again, this isn’t final. Nothing is until the president utters it, and even then, it’s subject to change, revision and alteration.”

“At least 14,000 unpaid workers in the Internal Revenue Service division that includes tax processing and call centers did not show up for work this week despite orders to do so, according to two House aides, posing a challenge to the Trump administration’s ability to minimize the damage from the government shutdown,” the Washington Post reports.

“The Trump administration ordered more than 30,000 employees back to work unpaid to prepare for tax filing season, which is set to begin next week. But of the 26,000 workers called back to the IRS division that includes the tax processing centers and call centers, about 9,000 workers could not be reached and about 5,000 more claimed a hardship exemption, IRS officials have told members of Congress.”