On Monday, President Joe Biden signed a bill to end the national emergency declaration for COVID-19. However, this will not affect the end of the public health emergency, which is scheduled to end on May 11. According to a White House official, terminating the national emergency “does not impact our ability to wind down authorities in an orderly way.”
The bill received bipartisan support in Congress, with 68 Senators and 11 Democrats in the House voting in favor of the joint resolution. Despite the White House’s initial opposition, the President signed the bill after Congress moved to undo the national emergency earlier than planned.
The administration has been working to wind down authorities recently, and the official stated that “the country is in a different place than it was in January.” The end of the national emergency will not impact the planned wind-down of the public health emergency, which provided critical support for Americans during the pandemic, including free testing, treatments, and vaccines and enhanced social safety net benefits.
Although the White House had to address the impacts of ending the national emergency earlier than intended, they are working with agencies to ensure an orderly wind-down process.
