Democrats and Republicans have struck a deal in principle to fund the US government and avert another crippling government shutdown while denying President Donald Trump much of the USD 5.7 billion he demanded to build a controversial wall along the US-Mexico border.

Sharp differences between Democrats and President Trump over border security and building a wall along the US-Mexico border resulted in a record partial government shutdown for more than 30 days. Building a wall along the US-Mexico border is a campaign promise of the 72-year-old Republican President.

The announcement by lawmakers on Monday night came days ahead of a possible government shutdown from Friday in the absence of such an agreement. Senate and House negotiators from both parties, who held a closed-door meeting in Washington, did not comment on the details of the deal, saying the staff is still working on last-minute logistics.

“We’ve had a good evening. We’ve reached an agreement in principle between us on the Homeland Security and the other six bills,” Senator Richard Shelby told reporters on Monday. As a result, the House and the Senate are likely to pass a new resolution before the February 15 deadline.