President Donald Trump signed the budget deal and ended a brief federal government shutdown on Friday. The law will fund the government for two years and increases spending by around $300 billion.
On Thursday, the two-year funding bill faced opposition in both chambers of the Congress. Some Republicans rejected the budget deal because of the increased spending. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats refused to support it because it did not include a provision to fix DACA.
In the Senate, Republican Sen. Rand Paul repeatedly tried to prevent a vote on the budget deal. He strongly opposed the spending increases and wanted amendments to maintain budget limits.
During his speech in the Senate, Sen. Paul emphasized, “George W. Bush doubled the debt from $5 trillion to $10 trillion. President Obama doubled the debt from $10 trillion to $20 trillion. Now we’re on course to exceed $30 trillion in the next seven years or so.”
Budget deal a victory for military and middle class families
Despite his efforts to block the budget deal, the Senate approved it early Friday. The measure passed by a 71-28 vote. In the House, 67 Republicans voted no but it was offset by the 73 Democrats who voted yes. The bill passed by 240-186 votes in the lower chamber before dawn Friday.
