More than three years after then-President Donald Trump proclaimed the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency, President Joe Biden on Monday signed a measure to terminate the national emergency.
When the H.J. Res. 7 measure passed the House chamber earlier this year, only 11 Democrats voted to approve it, but a larger number of Senate Democrats voted for passage when the measure cleared the Senate chamber in a 68-23 vote.
The Biden administration had opposed the measure that the president signed on Monday.
"The Administration strongly opposes enactment of H.R. 382 and H.J. Res. 7, which would be a grave disservice to the American people," a statement of administration policy dated January 30, 2023 noted.
"The COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency (PHE) were declared by the Trump Administration in 2020. They are currently set to expire on March 1 and April 11, respectively. At present, the Administration's plan is to extend the emergency declarations to May 11, and then end both emergencies on that date," the administration's statement said, warning that "an abrupt end to the emergency declarations would create wide-ranging chaos and uncertainty throughout the health care system."
