Biden signs $1.2 trillion funding package after Senate's early-morning passage ended shutdown threat
President Joe Biden has signed a $1.2 trillion package of spending bills that Congress just passed, ending the threat of a potential partial government shutdown
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Saturday signed a $1.2 trillion package of spending bills after Congress had passed the long overdue legislation just hours earlier, ending the threat of a partial government shutdown.
But the White House had sent out a notice shortly after the deadline announcing that the Office of Management and Budget had ceased shutdown preparations because there was a high degree of confidence that Congress would pass the legislation and the president would sign it Saturday.
It took lawmakers six months into the current budget year to get near the finish line on government funding, the process slowed by conservatives who pushed for more policy mandates and steeper spending cuts than a Democratic-led Senate or White House would consider. The impasse required several short-term spending bills to keep agencies funded.
