WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump, facing a midnight deadline on Friday (Dec 11), signed a one-week extension of expiring federal funding to avoid a government shutdown and to provide more time for separate talks on COVID-19 relief and an overarching spending Bill.

The Republican-led Senate passed the Bill on Friday afternoon after the Democratic-majority House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the measure on Wednesday.

Without this legislation, an array of government programs faced partial shutdown, ranging from some airport operations to national parks and State Department activities.