Outgoing President Joe Biden signed a stopgap funding bill into law on Saturday, extending government funding into March and avert a shutdown.
The Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill by a margin of 85-11, with the third time being the charms after a a chaotic week of lawmakers trying to pass the bill. Earlier this week, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle tried to pass a nearly 1,500 page bill that Elon Musk described as full of “pork.” if contained unnecessary and wasteful spending and would have given Congress members a pay raise for the first time since 2009.
The second time around, lawmakers trimmed the bill down to around 600 pages, but it failed to pass. However, by the third time new spending bill was drafted, it passed with just 166 pages.
“The bipartisan funding bill I just signed keeps the government open and delivers the urgently needed disaster relief that I requested for recovering communities as well as the funds needed to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge," Biden said in a statement. "This agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything it wanted. But it rejects the accelerated pathway to a tax cut for billionaires that Republicans sought, and it ensures the government can continue to operate at full capacity. That's good news for the American people, especially as families gather to celebrate this holiday season."
The new bill contains $100 billion in disaster relief funds to help with hurricane recovery and other natural disasters and allocates $10 billion in aid to farmers. However, it does not include anything about the debt ceiling— something President-elect Donald Trump was reported to not be happy about. House Republicans though said they would address the issue in a future tax bill once Trump assumes office.
Still, Trump called the slimmed-down bill a “success” and a “very good deal.”