Trump signed a bill funding the government for six months, threat of shutdown averted

US President Donald Trump signed into law a bill to finance the government up to September, averting the risk of a government shutdown at least temporarily and ending the gridlock in Congress. Even Democrats had a difference of opinions on this issue. White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields made an announcement on X in this context that Trump signed the continuing resolution on Saturday.

The bill keeps government expenditure at approximately the level set in President Joe Biden's administration. Some changes have been made to it nevertheless. It cuts non-defense expenditure by approximately $13 billion and increases defense expenditure by approximately $6 billion this year, a relatively minor adjustment in view of the level of approximately $1.7 trillion spent at the peak. On Friday, the Senate approved the bill on a party-line vote of 54-46 when 10 members of the Senate Democratic caucus helped pass the bill despite opposition from members of their party.

Senate Democrats debated for days whether to pursue a shutdown after Republicans in the House drafted and passed the spending measure without their input. Democrats said the legislation undermines health care, housing, and other priorities and gives Trump free rein to redirect federal spending, and that his administration and the Department of Government Efficiency are rapidly dismantling agencies and programs approved by Congress.

In the end, a majority of Democratic senators decided that shutting down the government would be worse than passing the funding bill. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the shutdown would give the Trump administration the ability to deem entire agencies, programs, and personnel non-essential, and send employees on furlough without any promise that they would be rehired.

"A shutdown would allow DOGE to operate unchecked. Donald Trump and Elon Musk would be free to destroy vital government services at a much faster pace," Schumer said. The passage of the funding bill through the House earlier in the week is a victory for Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson. They managed to keep Republicans together and pass the bill without the support of Democrats.