The 35-day government shutdown, the longest in American history, has officially come to an end, and federal workers in Connecticut are reacting to the breakthrough.

President Donald Trump announced a deal with congressional leaders to open the government for three weeks in order to provide the 800,000 affected workers with back pay. The deal doesn't include any money for the president's promised border wall.

A government employee in New Haven spoke to News 12's Mark Sudol Friday. He said he was happy the shutdown was ending, and added that the president should not be "extorting us."

Another worker said, "I think there should have been a better way of approaching it, but again, sometimes you need to use extreme measures to get results."

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal says the shutdown should have never happened. He says no president should hold the nation "hostage."