# Business

US President approves $1.4 trillion in spending, avoids shutdown

Trump signed the legislation aboard Air Force One as he travelled to his resort in Mar-a-Lago resort

SNS | New Delhi | December 21, 2019 2:40 pm

US President approves $1.4 trillion in spending, avoids shutdown

The U.S. President Donald Trump has approved nearly $1.4 trillion on Friday that would keep the government funded through September 30, avoiding the possibility of a shutdown ahead of what’s expected to be a contentious election season.

Trump signed the legislation aboard Air Force One as he travelled to his resort in Mar-a-Lago resort, where he will be celebrating Christmas and New Year, announced the White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere.

The spending measures, which will add roughly $400 billion to the deficit over 10 years, include money for Trump’s proposed fence at the US-Mexico border, increase payments of the military and civilian federal employees, and federal funding for election security grants.

The amount of spending was made public earlier this week and headed off a repeat of last year’s end-of-the-year impasse that led to a 35-day partial government shutdown. That showdown stemmed from Trump’s demand that Congress sign off on nearly $6 billion in funding for the border wall.

Hundreds of thousands of government workers were dismissed or forced to work without pay during the shutdown. During that period Trump skipped his vacation and remained in Washington.

(With input from agencies)

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