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Trump signs $1.3 trillion spending bill into law despite being 'unhappy' about it
- Trump signs $1.3 trillion spending bill into law despite being 'unhappy' about it.
- The signing marked the second about-face for Trump in 24 hours.
- The White House had said he would sign it, then said he might veto it.
- Trump is irked about the immigration proposals included in the legislation.
CNBC,
23 March, 2018
An
"unhappy" President Donald Trump signed the $1.3 trillion
spending bill into law Friday, his second about-face in 24 hours on
the measure to keep the government open.
The
president said he approved the legislation to fund the government
through September for national security reasons, as it authorizes a
major increase in military spending that he supports. But he
stressed that he did so reluctantly.
Trump
slammed the rushed process to pass the more than 2,200-page bill
released only Wednesday. Standing near the pile of documents, the
president said he was "disappointed" in the legislation
and would "never sign another bill like this again."
"We're
very proud of many of the items that we've been able to get. We're
very disappointed that in order to fund the military, we had to give
up things where we consider in many cases them to be bad or them to
be a waste of money. But that's the way unfortunately right now the
system works," Trump said at the White House. He added that he
"looked very seriously" at a veto, but his support for the
military spending levels "overrode" his concerns about the
bill.
Trump
teased a veto a day after the White House had said he would sign the
legislation despite his misgivings. He raised the risk of a
government shutdown only hours before the midnight Friday deadline.
Then the president, who enjoys creating tension and drama, announced
he would not veto the bill in an event carried on live television.
President
Donald Trump speaks with Vice President Mike Pence at his side as
holds an event to sign Congress' $1.3 trillion spending bill in the
Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington. U.S., March 23,
2018.
Trump
highlighted the portions of the bill he supports: the nearly $80
billion increase in defense spending, a $1.6 billion boost to border
security funding and a cash injection to fight the opioid epidemic.
The border money will go mostly toward surveillance technology and
fencing similar to structures that already exist on the southern
border. The amount of funding came in far below what the president
wanted.
In
a tweet Friday morning, Trump said he was "considering a VETO"
because the proposal did not extend protections for hundreds of
thousands of young undocumented immigrants or fully fund his
proposed border wall.
The
president's tweet threw more chaos into the process to keep the
government running Friday, even after it looked like Trump's
signature would be a sure thing. Vice President Mike Pence offered
support for the bill Thursday. Office of Management and Budget
Director Mick Mulvaney answered "yes" on Thursday when
asked if Trump would sign the bill.
"Why?
Because it funds his priorities," he told reporters.
The
legislation, which both chambers of Congress passed with bipartisan
support, would fund the government through the end of September. It
would significantly boost military spending and increase funding for
border security, infrastructure and efforts to fight the opioid
epidemic.
It
also includes measures meant to strengthen gun sale background
checks and improve school safety.
When
Trump threatened a veto, many lawmakers had already left Washington.
Some are in Rochester, New York, for the funeral Friday of longtime
Rep. Louise Slaughter, who died last week. The Senate had adjourned
and was not expected to take up legislative work again until April
9.
While
Trump cheered the military funding levels, he was irked by the level
of border security funding. While Republicans and the president
himself have said the bill funds Trump's "wall," the money
goes to miles of new fencing similar to existing structures.
Trump,
who has tried to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
program, reportedly wanted $25 billion in long-term wall funding in
exchange for protections for the young immigrants. Democrats and
some Republicans have sought to extend the DACA program. Trump
reportedly did not want to give up to 1.8 million immigrants a
pathway to citizenship as part of that deal, as Democrats wanted.
On
Friday, Trump claimed Democrats do not want to extend the legal
protections for the immigrants.
"I
do want the Hispanic community to know and DACA recipients to know
that Republicans are much more on your side than the Democrats, who
are using you for their own purposes," he said.
Some
notable Republicans who opposed the spending bill encouraged Trump
to torpedo it on Friday after his veto threat. Earlier, House
Freedom Caucus Vice Chairman Jim Jordan of Ohio told CNBC the veto
threat "is great" and said he hoped the president followed
through on it.
"I
think he got a full understanding of how bad this legislation is. …
This is not even close to what the American people elected us to
do," the hardline House conservative said.
Jordan
pushed back on GOP claims that the bill funded the border wall,
asking, "Why do you think [House and Senate Minority Leaders]
Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are smiling ear to ear?"
Earlier
Friday, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told Trump to "please"
veto the legislation, calling the spending levels "grotesque."
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. twitter.com/realdonaldtrum…
At
least one Democrat — Rep. Ted Lieu of California — said he
supported a veto. He criticized the rushed process by which Congress
passed the legislation.
House
Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., had worked this week to win Trump's
support for the plan. He described it as a win for the president
because it boosts Defense Department funding, authorizes more money
to fight the opioid crisis and puts more money toward border
enforcement.
I agree @realDonaldTrump should veto this sad excuse for legislation because it’s $1.3 trillion in spending that (almost) no one read. twitter.com/randpaul/statu…
"This
funds the wall, fixes the military, fights opioids and does the
things that we said," Ryan said Thursday on Fox News' "Fox
& Friends," a show Trump frequently watches and tweets
about.
Ryan
also went to the White House on Wednesday as Trump was unsure about
whether to support the spending bill. After the president spoke with
Ryan and McConnell, the White House issued a statement saying he
backed the legislation.
Trump's
tweet Friday morning caught Ryan by surprise, according to a GOP
source who declined to be named. The speaker is in his home state of
Wisconsin for the Easter recess, and spoke to the president by phone
at about 9:30 a.m., a little more than a half hour after Trump's
tweet.
Ryan
emphasized "all the wins" in the bill, particularly
military spending, and felt encouraged after the call, the source
added.
An interpretation from right-wing Trump-supporter, Hal Turner. Does anything go, including a neo-con warmonger, so long as they get their wall?
$1.3 Trillion "Deep State Throat-Slit" Bill ! $404 Million for IG - Border wall now "National Security Emergency" - Construction Begins Monday
Trump, you MAGNIFICENT BASTARD, you just funded a take-down of the "Deep State" with almost half a billion dollars, and the very people being taken down are applauding the Bill they passed without reading it! Better still, construction of the Border Wall begins Monday ! ! ! ! !
Both Houses of Congress passed the 2018 Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018. First and most importantly, this is a OMNIBUS BILL, NOT A BUDGET.
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