The interim budget bill has some adjustments such as non-defense spending being cut by about $13 billion compared to last year; while the defense budget is increased by $6 billion.
On March 15, US President Donald Trump signed a temporary budget bill extending through September 2025, ending the risk of a partial federal government shutdown after many tense debates in Congress.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields announced this on social network X.
The bill essentially maintains the federal budget level set during the term of former President Joe Biden, but with some adjustments. Specifically, non-defense spending is cut by about $13 billion compared to the previous year, while the defense budget increases by $6 billion. These changes account for only a small proportion of the total federal budget of nearly $1.7 trillion.
The US Senate passed the bill on March 14 with a vote of 54 in favor and 46 against.
Previously, Democrats in the House of Representatives had also called for the bill to be rejected outright.
However, some Democratic senators eventually chose to support the bill, arguing that a government shutdown could have more serious consequences.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said that if a government shutdown occurred, President Trump could deem government agencies and programs as “non-essential,” leading to a situation where employees were temporarily laid off without any commitment to return to work. Finally, Mr. Schumer changed his stance and declared that he would not let the government shut down.
The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives passed the spending bill on March 11./.