The bill would fund government until mid-March and includes $110 billion for disaster relief, $30 billion in farm aid, and a 1-year extension to the farm bill.
President Joe Biden will not stand in the way of a funding package passed by the House on Dec. 20, the White House announced.
“President Biden supports moving this legislation forward and ensuring that the vital services the government provides for hardworking Americans—from issuing Social Security checks to processing benefits for veterans—can continue as well as to grant assistance for communities that were impacted by devastating hurricanes,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.
That statement criticized Republicans’ decision to walk away from a previous 1,547-page proposal that ignited a social media firestorm following its release on Tuesday. President-elect Donald Trump opposed the legislation, while his ally Elon Musk vowed to primary any Republican who voted for it.
Biden opposed an alternative plan put forward on Thursday that would have suspended the debt ceiling until January 2027, effectively killing the proposal.
His support for the revised proposal, which passed the House in a 366–34 vote on Friday, nearly guarantees that the legislation will pass.
The bill is now set to be considered by the Senate, where lawmakers are likely negotiating the terms under Senate rules for a vote later tonight.
The legislation may not be signed into law until after the technical deadline for a shutdown, which will begin at 12:01 am ET on Saturday, but Biden’s endorsement makes it likely that any shutdown will be short-lived.
By Joseph Lord
