Joe Biden Signs Bill Ending Coronavirus National Emergency

Joe Biden on Monday signed a Republican-led bill to terminate the coronavirus national emergency that former President Donald Trump first enacted in March 2020.

Biden’s White House was planning to wind down the national emergency next month on May 11. However, House Republicans put forth bills to end the national emergency before May.

The GOP-led bill, introduced by Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar (R) passed the House in February by a 229-197 vote. Despite nearly 200 House Democrats voting against the bill, it received bipartisan support in the Senate, which approved it in a 68-23 vote.

Biden did not veto the Republican-led bill, despite warning that ending the national emergency early would “create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system — for states, for hospitals and doctors’ offices, and, most importantly, for tens of millions of Americans.”

“The resolution will end a number of waivers for federal health programs Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP, however many of the changes to health care regulations have become largely irrelevant as COVID-19 precautions have been relaxed,” according to the Hill.

Rep. Gregory Murphy (R-NC) called the national emergency’s termination a “major win for the American people.”

“Under the guise of COVID, President Biden and the Democrats were able to abuse emergency powers and go on a spending spree in order to prevent the American people from returning to normal,” Murphy said in a statement. “After bipartisan votes in both chambers voted to end this declaration, President Bided finally was forced to end this declaration. Medicine needs to be rooted in hard, objective science, not politics.”

“First, @HouseGOP overturned Washington, D.C.’s pro-criminal, anti-police agenda. Now, President Biden signed into law our resolution ENDING the COVID-19 emergency,” Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) tweeted. “Under @SpeakerMcCarthy, House Republicans are delivering real results for American families.”

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