5:25 p.m. ET, January 25, 2019
McConnell told Trump he didn't know if GOP could keep holding the line
From CNN's Manu Raju
MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke with President Trump twice on Thursday — and Trump made the decision late Thursday that he wanted the shutdown to end, per a person familiar with their conversations
The first call came after a contentious Senate GOP lunch where Republican senators vented frustration at Vice President Mike Pence about the lack of strategy to get out of the shutdown. McConnell told Trump that it was unclear how much longer he could get GOP senators to hold the line — especially if there were another round of votes to end the shutdown.
A few hours later, Trump called McConnell back with a new perspective: Trump made clear he wanted the shutdown to end, which led to the deal that was approved by Congress Friday.
What's unclear, according to the source, is what exactly got Trump to change his mind in the intervening hours between their two phone calls.