Biden Indicators Stopgap Spending Invoice, Averting Authorities Shutdown

President Joe Biden signed a stopgap spending invoice into regulation Saturday to maintain the federal authorities funded and keep away from a disruptive shutdown.

Home legislators had come to an settlement on a finances extension simply earlier than the federal government shutdown deadline Friday, and the Senate accepted the measure early Saturday. The invoice is predicted to maintain the federal authorities funded by way of March, when Republicans will management the White Home and each chambers of Congress. Shutdowns sometimes happen when one social gathering controls the White Home and the opposite the Senate or the Home of Representatives as they use the talks to discount throughout the aisle.

By regulation, the federal authorities’s finances is due earlier than the start of the fiscal yr on Oct. 1. Nevertheless, lawmakers passed temporary measures extending the deadline to Dec. 20 to permit time for each events to agree on how Congress ought to spend its cash. This has turn into commonplace in latest a long time; finances payments have been on time solely 4 instances since 1977, in accordance with an evaluation by the Pew Analysis Middle, a nonprofit analysis group.

This time, lawmakers have been scrambling to satisfy the deadline regardless of seemingly agreeing on a finances deal final week. On Tuesday, congressional leaders mentioned that they had come to a compromise that may prolong authorities funding by way of March. Nevertheless, President-elect Donald Trump and his newly appointed budget advisor, Elon Musk, made statements on social media Thursday that criticized the deal, inflicting Republicans to tug again.

The brand new invoice handed with out a debt ceiling extension, a provision Trump had particularly known as for in his name to lawmakers.

UPDATE—Dec. 21, 2024: This text has been up to date to mirror occasions that transpired because it was first printed.