U.S. President Donald Trump attends the 48th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 26, 2018. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan)
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump signed a wide-ranging bipartisan deal into law on Friday morning, ending a brief government shutdown that began just after Thursday midnight.
The shutdown, the second time in three weeks, started after the Senate missed the deadline for passing a short-term funding bill.
Senator Rand Paul Thursday blocked a vote, saying the deal, agreed to by the leaders of both Republican and Democratic parties and supported by Trump, would add debt and fiscal deficit to the government.
Senators ultimately voted 71-28 to approve the deal shortly before 2 a.m. ET (0700 GMT), and the House voted 240-186 in favor of the deal around 5:30 a.m. ET (1030 GMT).
The deal Trump signed includes a bill that will fund the government through March 23, marking the fifth temporary government funding measure for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, 2017.
The deal extends the U.S. government's borrowing authority until March 2019, sparing Washington politicians difficult votes on spending and debts before mid-term congressional elections in November.
It also includes a budget package which will increase defense and non-defense spending by about 300 billion U.S. dollars for the next two years.
