US declares pandemic emergency over

The White House has deferred to Congress and set its Covid-19 powers aside, with President Joe Biden signing a measure ending the Covid-19 pandemic emergency in the US. The bill was approved by the House of Representatives in February (229-197), and by the Senate at the end of March (68-23). Biden's Democrats had argued that ending the emergency would create chaos and uncertainty, but a few ended up voting in favor of the GOP-proposed bill. As of Monday evening, it was unclear what effect ending the emergency would have on two major, controversial US government policies. Ahead of the 2022 midterm election, Biden had invoked the pandemic powers to justify a plan to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student debt per borrower and to end the Title 42 policy established under the pandemic. The Republican opposition has challenged both policies in court, insisting on keeping Title 42 while questioning the constitutionality of the student debt plan.