(Photo by Evan Vucci/AP)
Updated at 9:39 pm AKT
The Associated Press reports that President Donald Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending measure Friday averting a government shutdown at midnight, acting just hours after saying he was considering a veto.
Updated at 11:05 a.m. EDT
President Donald Trump threatened to veto a massive spending bill Friday morning, hours before the government could shut down if it doesn’t get the funding it approves.
The $1.3 trillion omnibus legislation passed both chambers of Congress after lengthy negotiations between leaders of both parties. The Senate passed it late Thursday and most lawmakers had left Washington by Friday morning.
Even so, Trump tweeted just before 9 a.m. EDT that he is “considering a veto” because the bill does not address his immigration priorities.
I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2018
The threat of a veto this late in the game is highly unusual for a president, particularly one whose party controls both chambers of Congress. White House officials had said Trump would sign it. Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill said the president supported it.
“Oh yes,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters this week. “Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah, the president supports this bill — there’s no two ways about it.”
It’s unclear what spurred the president’s tweet on Friday, but he’s a noted Fox & Friends viewer. On the show Friday morning, one contributor called it a “swamp budget” because is it does not support a border wall.
The White House had been looped in throughout congressional leaders’ spending negotiations, and Friday morning Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway also told Fox News that the president planned to sign the bill.
A day before, Vice President Pence told an audience in New Hampshire that one reason Trump would sign the omnibus was because it included support for a border wall.
“And with $1.6 billion included in the spending bill that arrives on President Trump’s desk tomorrow, we’re going to start to build that wall,” Pence said to applause. “We’re doing it.”
White House budget boss Mick Mulvaney also cited increases in spending for national defense, combating opioid addiction, school safety, workforce development and funding for infrastructure.
He noted that it does a lot of what the administration wants on immigration.
“So all things considered,” Mulvaney said, “when we look at the bill, we have to weigh what we asked for and what we had to give away to it. Is it perfect? No. Is it exactly what we asked for in the budget? No. Were we ever going to get that? No. That’s not how the process works.”
Mulvaney did address the immigration issues that Trump highlighted on Friday morning as one reason he might not ultimately sign the omnibus.
They include the dispute over the policy known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which shields immigrants in the U.S. illegally who were brought to the country as children.
“Did we get everything that we wanted when it comes to immigration? Absolutely not,” Mulvaney said. “Did we get a DACA fix? No. And let’s make it clear. The president wanted a DACA fix as part of this deal. He had offered a large package with a complete DACA fix in exchange for the entire wall. ”
Trump and Republicans offered Democrats three years’ worth of a DACA “fix” in exchange for three years’ worth of support for a Mexico border wall, Mulvaney said.
There is more to the story, though: In exchange for a DACA fix, Trump demanded changes to legal immigration in addition to wall funding.
Trump has rejected proposed bipartisan DACA fixes that would swap a permanent fix for money to build a border wall. The White House demanded broader changes to legal immigration that Democrats wouldn’t support.
Music to ears of the hawks
Trump’s veto threat on Friday was welcome news to fiscal hawks who had railed against the bill’s spending increases.
Please do, Mr. President. I am just down the street and will bring you a pen. The spending levels without any offsets are grotesque, throwing all of our children under the bus. Totally irresponsible. https://t.co/np7BmP1AkB
— Senator Bob Corker (@SenBobCorker) March 23, 2018
Conservatives opposed the bill because it would add to the deficit. Many, like House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., say they were dismayed that the legislation includes spending increases sought by Democrats and fails to fulfill Republican campaign promises to cut the overall size of government.
The @freedomcaucus would fully support you in this move, Mr. President. Let’s pass a short term CR while you negotiate a better deal for the forgotten men and women of America. https://t.co/Dj05V8hevl
— Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) March 23, 2018
Republican leaders could have crafted a spending bill that met conservative demands, but it would fail in the Senate, where Democrats have enough votes to block legislation.
The omnibus spending package has been in the works for several months and was crafted with input from both the White House and Congress. It was written to fill out a budget outline that Congress passed, and Trump signed, in February.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Thursday the spending legislation was a true compromise.
“Months of in-depth, bicameral, bipartisan negotiations and committee work have led up to this point,” McConnell said. “The result is legislation that neither side sees as perfect — but which contains a host of significant victories and important achievements on behalf of the American people.”
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