President Joe Biden on Saturday signed HR 10545, the so-called American Relief Act, 2025, into law, extending current government funding through March 14. Biden praised the “compromise” bill in a statement, describing the bill as “good news” ahead of the holidays.
The bill had passed the House late Friday with a vote of 366–34–1, with 170 Republicans and all Democrats, apart from Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), voting in favor of the bill. It then passed a vote in the Senate shortly after midnight, by a margin of 85–11.
President-elect Donald Trump criticized the bill and unsuccessfully attempted to get Republicans to negotiate a suspension of the debt-ceiling until 2029. “Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Without this, we should never make a deal. Remember, the pressure is on whoever is President.”
The over 1,500-page bill had been opposed by Elon Musk for being bloated, though the Trump confidant and tech entrepreneur later offered praise of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). “The Speaker did a good job here, given the circumstances,” Musk stated in a post on X.
Speaker Johnson, however, seemed to indicate that the president-elect is satisfied with the final deal. “I was in constant contact with President Trump throughout this process. Spoke with him, most recently about 45 minutes ago. He knew exactly what we were doing and why, and this is a good outcome for the country. I think he certainly is happy about this outcome as well,” Johnson stated.
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