Washington, Dec 22 (IASN) US President Donald Trump singled out $4.6 billion in missile defence funding on Friday, as part of a short-term spending bill that he signed to keep the government open until next month.

The continuing resolution (CR) keeps the federal government open until January 19, 2018, which includes funding for missile defence programmes, a request the Trump administration made last month.

The CR, which cleared the House and Senate Thursday night, has about $2.4 billion for missile defence procurement, $1.3 billion for research and development, among other things.

Before signing the CR, Trump described the new funding for missile defence as “much-needed” in a tweet on Friday morning.

The President also signed a 1.5-trillion-dollar tax cut bill into law on Friday before leaving for his Christmas break in Florida.