Senate votes to end COVID-19 emergency

The United States Senate on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to end the COVID-19 emergency declaration which has been in place since the start of the pandemic.

The Senate passed the measure in a 68-23 vote, according to The Hill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Senate Democrats ahead of the vote that Biden had indicated he would not veto it should it reach his desk.

Biden made his opposition to the plan clear, however, saying through a spokesperson that he "strongly opposes" ending the declaration early, but that "[i]f this bill comes to his desk...he will sign it, and the administration will continue working with agencies to wind down the national emergency with as much notice as possible to Americans who could potentially be impacted."

The House of Representatives voted to eliminate the emergency earlier this year in a 220-210 party line vote. In a separate vote, the House also approved a second bill to end the emergency, on which eleven Democrats joined their Republican colleagues.

Should Biden sign the final version, as he has indicated, the measure will immediately end the years-long COVID-19 emergency. The administration had intended to let it expire in May, anyway.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.