Biden signs $1.2 trillion funding bill to avoid government shutdown

usa news

by John Levin

President Biden signed a $1.2 trillion funding package to keep the government open.

“The bipartisan funding bill I just signed will keep government open, invest in the American people, and strengthen our economy and national security. It means we got everything we wanted,” the president said in a statement on Saturday.

“But let me be clear: Congress’ work is not done yet. To advance our national security interests, the House must pass a bipartisan national security supplement. No,” Biden added. “And Congress must pass a bipartisan border security agreement, the toughest and fairest reform in decades, to ensure we have the policies and funding we need to secure our borders.”

After extensive delays and controversy, the Senate passed the bill early Saturday morning by a vote of 74-24.

The bill eases a partial government shutdown and technically took effect after the chamber passed a midnight deadline to move the funding package.

“It's been a very long, difficult day, but we've reached an agreement that gets the job done: funding the government,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor after the vote. “It's good for the country that we reached this bipartisan agreement. It wasn't easy, but tonight's persistence was worth it.”

The funding bill went through a more tortuous process in the House. Speaker Mike Johnson passed the bill with a bipartisan majority of 286 to 134, but the conservative House Freedom Caucus slammed the bill at a press conference, calling it “surrender,” “surrender” and “full of nonsense.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called the spending bill “a complete betrayal of all of our values” and moved to introduce a motion to rescind the resolution against Johnson. The procedural move to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy could plunge the chamber into another leadership crisis.

With the impending retirement of Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) this week, Republicans will control the chamber with just one vote.