WASHINGTON: US president Donald Trump has signed a stopgap funding bill that keeps the government open for the remainder of the fiscal year, paving the way for Republican lawmakers to pivot to signature border and tax bills they seek to pass in the coming months.
The president signed the legislation while in Florida for the weekend, the White House said last Saturday in an emailed statement.
Congress narrowly passed the Grand Old Party spending plan last Friday, when Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and a handful of his fellow party members moved to help the Republican majority overcome a procedural obstacle.
The decision has opened up a rift among Democrats.
While Schumer has argued that it was essential not to block pivotal government services, others in the party saw the funding legislation as their best chance to impose constraints on Trump and Elon Musk’s mass firings of federal workers and wholesale elimination of government agencies.
Furthermore, Trump applauded Schumer following the procedural vote, saying the New York Democrat “did the right thing, really”.
Trump has said he wants lawmakers to now turn their attention to an extension and expansion of his tax cut package from his first term, which can be accomplished without Democratic votes.
Still, the bill could face a difficult path on Capitol Hill, with some budget hawks in the Republican Party wary of Trump’s sweeping plans that include the elimination of taxes on tipped wages, Social Security and overtime pay. — Bloomberg
