Biden Signs Bill Ending COVID-19 National Emergency

President Joe Biden signed a bill Monday ending the COVID-19 national emergency.

What it Means: Programs that will be reduced immediately include mortgage forbearance from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and relaxed Department of Veteran Affairs requirements for home visits and treatment. The Biden administration previously extended the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency until May 11. House Republicans rejected that, and introduced legislation to end both immediately.

Key Quotes: "The pandemic is over and has been," said Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), who sponsored the bill. "This repeal is a great step forward towards economic and social recovery." CNN (Lean Left bias) quoted an anonymous White House official who said ending the emergency "does not impact our ability to wind down authorities in an orderly way."

For Context: Former President Donald Trump signed the national emergency bill on March 13, 2020. The bill to end it passed through Congress with moderate bipartisan support. The public health emergency is still set to expire May 11; that's expected to impact federal programs like Medicaid and Title 42.

How the Media Covered It: Sources across the spectrum covered the news. Some left-rated sources focused more on the White House framing the bill as insignificant, and how winding down federal pandemic programs will affect certain communities. Washington Examiner (Lean Right) mentioned speculation about COVID-19's origins, saying the "most popular theory is that it originated from a lab leak in Wuhan, China."