Border deal forged by first two women to lead appropriations panel

The bipartisan deal to keep the federal government open and avert a government shutdown this week was forged in part by the first all-woman leadership duo in charge of the House Appropriations Committee.

The panel is led by Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and ranking member Kay Granger (R-Texas). The two were part of the bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers that worked on negotiating a bipartisan compromise on border security to prevent the government from running out of funding after Friday.

{mosads}The two told CNN in an interview Wednesday that a compromise on immigration and border security would have been reached sooner had the two been involved in negotiations from the start.

“Give us an hour. 30 minutes,” Granger told CNN.

“We’re very straightforward,” Lowey added in agreement, according to CNN. “We also know our own position and each other’s position.”

It is the first time two women have led a House committee since the Select Committee on the House Beauty Shop, which was disbanded in 1977.

Granger and Lowey credit their ability to work together in a bipartisan fashion to an understanding the two worked out earlier this year.

“Nita always said, ‘We’re gonna be friends. We’re going to show how well two women can get things done,'” Granger says Lowey told her, according to CNN.

“We’re going to disagree but not be disagreeable and work things out. Do it on time, do it the right way,” Lowey said.

The border security deal agreed to “in principle” on Monday will provide $1.375 billion for physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, but prohibits a concrete wall. The bill is set to be released today, with the House preparing for a vote on Thursday.

“We worked it out in principle. We think it’s going to work,” said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), one of two senators in the negotiations.

The White House hasn’t yet indicated support for the bill, which provides far less than the $5.7 billion the White House has requested for a physical barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border.

But the White House has provided signals that Trump will sign it. On Wednesday, Trump said a shutdown “would be a terrible thing.”