Trump signs bill extending government funding for 24 hours

President Trump signed a continuing resolution on Sunday night that will fund the government for the next 24 hours, preventing a shutdown just before midnight and giving Congress extra time to pass a coronavirus relief measure and an accompanying $1.4 trillion government funding bill.

The White House announced just before midnight that Trump signed the bill shortly after the House and Senate each passed the measure Sunday evening. Congress is expected to take up the stimulus package and government funding bill on Monday. The government would have shut down at midnight without the one-day extension of funding.

The continuing resolution was needed after stimulus talks hit an impasse over the weekend. It is the second such measure Trump has signed in the last two days, after a two-day short-term bill was passed and signed into law on Friday evening.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Sunday evening that congressional negotiators had finalized a deal that would link a $1.4 trillion government funding bill to roughly $900 billion in further coronavirus relief, a significant bipartisan breakthrough after months of on and off talks. 

A late disagreement over the Federal Reserve’s lending powers threatened the broader deal over the weekend but was resolved close to midnight Saturday by a bipartisan group, paving the way for an agreement.

Trump has hardly been involved in stimulus talks, instead keeping his attention on disputing the election results that saw him be defeated by President-elect Joe Biden.

Still, Trump has pushed for the inclusion of direct payments to Americans. He tweeted late Saturday that Congress needed to reach a stimulus deal, pressuring lawmakers to give “more money in direct payments.”

The Washington Post reported last week that Trump wanted to call for direct payments of at least $1,200 and up to $2,000, but that aides intervened to prevent him from making the demand. The deal announced Sunday includes a round of $600 direct payments to certain Americans. 

Trump told reporters earlier this month he would support a coronavirus relief package if Congress were to reach a deal and aides indicated Sunday that he would support it.