President Obama signed legislation Friday that keeps the government funded through mid-December and authorizes his administration to train and equip Syrian opposition forces in their fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
The bill signing in the Oval Office means that there will be no repeat of the 2013 government shutdown, a rare moment of bipartisan consensus for lawmakers who were eager to leave town ahead of the November midterms.
Senior administration officials furiously scrambled in recent days to secure enough backing from Republicans and Democrats to ensure the short-term funding bill would reach the president’s desk.
The legislation’s passage was never seriously in doubt, especially since the measure included funding to combat the Islamic State and the quickly spreading Ebola virus in Africa.
The president has authorized airstrikes in Syria, while waging a similar campaign in Iraq, but the White House on Friday refused to give a timeline on when such attacks would take place.
A day earlier, the president thanked Congress for giving him a rare legislative victory.
“I’m pleased that Congress — a majority of Democrats and a majority of Republicans, in both the House and the Senate — have now voted to support a key element of our strategy: Our plan to train and equip the opposition in Syria so they can help push back these terrorists,” Obama said.
The president signed the bill in the Oval Office Friday before heading off to Camp David for the weekend.
