President Biden signs stopgap measure to avoid government shutdown
President Biden on Saturday signed the stopgap measure approved by Congress on Friday that will prevent a government shutdown.
The White House announced Biden had signed the bill in a brief statement.
The legislation will keep the government funded through March 14, and also provides disaster relief and extends farm legislation.
The House approved the bill on Friday evening after a dramatic week that saw President-elect Trump and his allies kill a broader piece of bipartisan legislation that would have extended government funding.
That legislation included a host of other issues, including a pay raise for lawmakers. GOP lawmakers in the House were angered by the legislation, and it was pulled after the opposition from Trump and tech moguls Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Trump then called for a debt ceiling hike to be added to the legislation. That led to a second bill, which received a vote on the House floor. It was defeated, with nearly every Democrat in the House voting against it along with 38 Republicans.
Democrats said they could not agree to the last-minute addition of the debt hike, which they said would be used to cover tax cuts and spending by Trump when he takes office.
Republicans objecting to that measure also disliked the debt ceiling language, and had demanded offsetting spending cuts,.
In the end, the House approved a cleaner version of the bill that also included the farm and disaster assistance. That measure was also approved by the Senate.
You can read about some of the winners and losers in the fight, and the legislation, here.