Biden Quietly Signs Bill Ending National COVID Emergency

President Joe Biden signed a resolution Monday officially ending the COVID-19 pandemic national emergency more than three years after former President Donald Trump imposed it.

Trump issued the declaration in March 2020 at the onset of the pandemic to give the executive branch more power to direct funds to help fight the pandemic. It has been extended 13 times since then, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

Although Biden never threatened to veto the resolution, which passed the GOP-controlled House 229-197 on Feb. 1 and the Senate 68-23 on March 29, he was not a vocal supporter. There was not much fanfare surrounding the signing, which was done behind closed doors on the eve of Biden’s trip Tuesday to Northern Ireland, The New York Post reported.

The White House issued a one-sentence statement on the matter: “On Monday, April 10, 2023, the President signed into law: H.J. Res. 7, which terminates the national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic.” It was not mentioned in Monday’s briefing by press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.

The national emergency was expected to end March 13, but in February, Biden notified Congress that he was extending it to May 11 because he said, “an orderly transition is critical to the health and safety of the nation.”

The resolution will end a number of waivers for federal health programs Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP, The Hill reported. But many of the changes to health care regulations have become moot because COVID-19 precautions have been relaxed.

It also will see an end to Title 42, an immigration policy which began under the Trump administration that allowed for the rapid deportation of illegal immigrants. The Biden administration had been relaxing enforcement of Title 42 by allowing more people into the U.S. to await asylum rulings.

The national emergency allowed Trump and Biden to forgive federal student loan repayments, but Biden is now using the HEROES Act to forgive up to $20,000 per person in federal student loan debt, a plan that is being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court.