WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden signed a bill into law Saturday that averts a government shutdown, bringing a final close to days of upheaval after Congress approved a temporary funding plan just past the deadline and refused President-elect Donald Trump's core debt demands in the package.
The deal funds the government at current levels through March 14 and provides $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers.
''This agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything it wanted,'' Biden said in a statement, adding that ''it ensures the government can continue to operate at full capacity. That's good news for the American people.''
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had insisted lawmakers would ''meet our obligations'' and not allow federal operations to close. But the outcome at the end of a tumultuous week was uncertain after Trump had insisted the deal include an increase in the government's borrowing limit. If not, he had said, then let the closures ''start now.''
Johnson's revised plan was approved 366-34, and it was passed by the Senate by a 85-11 vote after midnight. By then, the White House said it had ceased shutdown preparations.
''There will be no government shutdown,'' said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Johnson, who had spoken to Trump after the House vote, said the compromise was "a good outcome for the country'' and that the president-elect ''was certainly happy about this outcome, as well.''
The final product was the third attempt from Johnson, the beleaguered speaker, to achieve one of the basic requirements of the federal government — keeping it open. The difficulties raised questions about whether Johnson will be able to keep his job, in the face of angry Republican colleagues, and work alongside Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk, who was calling the legislative plays from afar.
