Washington DC : The US House of Representatives and Senate approved a stopgap spending legislation to avert a government shutdown, with President Joe Biden signing the measure into law.
The bill marked House Speaker Mike Johnson’s third attempt to combine a three-month funding extension with emergency aid this week, after wrestling with competing demands from President-elect Donald Trump, his billionaire government efficiency czar Elon Musk, internal Republican critics and Democrats.
The budget deal was passed shortly after a midnight deadline (10 am PST Saturday) with an overwhelming of margin of 85-11.
The bill does not include a demand from Trump that lawmakers increase how much money the federal government can borrow, showing the limits of his ability to command lawmakers from his own party.
The Senate voted shortly after 00:30 (10:30 am PST Saturday), with most Democrats and Republicans supporting the measure.
Without a funding deal, millions of federal employees would have ended up either on temporary unpaid leave or left working without pay.
A shutdown would close or severely reduce operations for public services like parks, food assistance programmes and federally funded preschools, as well as limit assistance to aid-reliant farmers and people recovering from natural disasters.
The last government shutdown was during Trump’s first term in 2019 and lasted 35 days – the longest in US history.
Lawmakers earlier this week had successfully negotiated a deal to fund government agencies but it fell apart after Trump and billionaire Musk called on Republicans to reject it.
The 118-page “American Relief Act, 2025” strips out a debt-limit provision that Trump had demanded, which was a sticking point for Democrats and some Republican budget hawks in an earlier draft bill.
The deal also removes measures sought by Democrats in the first version of the bill, including the first pay rise for lawmakers since 2009, federal funds to rebuild a bridge that collapsed in Baltimore, healthcare reforms, and provisions aimed at preventing hotels and live event venues from deceptive advertising.
It does include $100 billion in disaster relief funds to help with hurricane recovery and other natural disasters, and allocates $10 billion in aid to farmers.
Democrats in the House have criticized the involvement of Musk in the process, who they pointed out is an unelected billionaire.
Musk, who Trump has tasked with cutting government spending in his future administration, had lobbied heavily against an earlier version of the bill.
During the debate, Republicans said they looked forward to a “new era” with Trump taking office on 20 January and Republicans in control of both chambers of Congress. Currently, the Senate remains under Democratic control.
