President Joe Biden told Congress on Monday that the national emergency declarations for COVID-19 will end on May 11, more than three years after they were first announced by the Trump Administration.
In response to measures proposed by Republicans in Congress seeking to end the two emergency declarations immediately, the Biden administration said they plan to extend the COVID-19 public health emergency and national emergency until May, before winding them down. The date was announced in a policy statement issued by the Office of Management and Budget that expressed the administration’s opposition to the measures.
The administration said it wants to give hospitals and other health care providers at least 60 days notice before ending the public health emergency because of funding attached to the declaration. Ending the emergency could mean higher costs for COVID-19 vaccines and other health care related to the virus.
The administration also said ending the public health emergency would end the use of Title 42, which allows the administration to expel some migrants who cross the Southern border. Biden had previously tried to end the policy, but was stopped by the U.S. Supreme Court.