WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed a government funding bill into law on Saturday, formally averting a shutdown crisis after Congress passed the bill.
The package funds the government at current levels through March 14 and includes $100 billion in disaster relief and a one-year farm bill. It did not include an extension of the debt limit demanded by newly elected President Donald Trump.
“This agreement represents a compromise, meaning neither side got everything they wanted,” Biden said in a statement. “But it rejects the accelerated path to tax cuts for billionaires that Republicans sought, and it allows the government to continue operating at full capacity.”
“That’s good news for the American people, especially as families come together to celebrate the holidays,” he added.
The Senate passed the funding bill Saturday night, shortly after the House passed the bill. The vote in the Senate was 85-11 and the vote in the House was 366-34.
On Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden supported the legislation that ultimately passed Congress.
“While it doesn’t include everything we were looking for, it also includes the disaster relief the president called for for communities recovering from the storm, eliminates the fast track to a tax cut for billionaires and would ensure the government can operate at full capacity continue to operate. ,” Jean-Pierre said in Friday’s statement.
The signing of the bill caps a chaotic few days that began when Trump and his ally Elon Musk publicly opposed the initial bipartisan agreement, effectively killing it.
While the two men were outspoken in their opposition to the deal, Republicans in Congress were quick to repeat their criticism.
However, Trump also urged Republicans to extend or eliminate the debt ceiling, a request that was not included in the final bill.
Earlier this week, Trump threatened primaries for Republicans who defied his bid to extend the debt limit. However, Republicans still overwhelmingly supported the final bill.
After the initial bipartisan agreement fell apart, the House failed to pass a new funding bill on Thursday when a large majority of Democrats and several dozen Republicans rejected it.
Jean-Pierre on Thursday accused Republicans of “doing the work of their billionaire benefactors at the expense of hardworking Americans,” criticizing the party for derailing the original bipartisan agreement.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
