Thread: Trump threatens to veto omnibus spending bill over DACA and the border wall

Jacob Pramuk
Published 2 Hours Ago Updated 28 Mins Ago


President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to veto the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill already passed by Congress, only hours before government funding would lapse.

The about-face comes a day after the White House had said Trump would sign the legislation despite his misgivings. The government will shut down at 12:01 a.m. Saturday if Trump does not sign a funding bill into law.

In a tweet, Trump said he is "considering a VETO" because the proposal does not extend protections for hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants or fully fund his proposed border wall.


Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
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.
5:55 AM - Mar 23, 2018

The president's tweet throws more chaos into the process to keep the government running, even after it looked like Trump's signature would only be a formality. 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.

A White House official who declined to be named told CNBC that Trump was "frustrated" by what he deems Democrats' refusal to reach a deal on shielding the young immigrants. An official emphasized that Trump only said he was "considering" a veto.

Many lawmakers have 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.

An administration official, who declined to be named, believes lawmakers will come back if Trump asks for a better deal.

While Trump cheered the military funding levels, he was apparently irked by the level of border security funding. The legislation would boost border enforcement funds by about $1.6 billion, to go toward surveillance technology and fencing along the border with Mexico. While Republicans have said the bill funds Trump's "wall," the money goes to fencing structures similar to ones that already exist.

The president, 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 the deal, as Democrats wanted.

Some notable Republicans who opposed the spending bill encouraged Trump to torpedo it. House Freedom Caucus Vice Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told CNBC the veto threat "is great" and said he hopes the president follows 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?"

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told Trump to "please" veto the legislation, calling the spending levels "grotesque."


Senator Bob Corker
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@SenBobCorker
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://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/...66887493799936 …
6:10 AM - Mar 23, 2018

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., whom Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell persuaded not to delay the Senate vote on the bill, also urged Trump to "veto this sad excuse for legislation."


Senator Rand Paul
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@RandPaul
I agree @realDonaldTrump should veto this sad excuse for legislation because it’s $1.3 trillion in spending that (almost) no one read. https://twitter.com/randpaul/status/976924813234237443 …
6:51 AM - Mar 23, 2018

The Freedom Caucus pushed the president to oppose the legislation on Wednesday, the day of its release. The group argued the bill did not put enough funding toward border security and criticized the lack of a measure to pull funds from Planned Parenthood, among other provisions.

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 by about $80 billion, authorizes more money to fight the opioid crisis and puts more funding toward border enforcement.

"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.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/23/trum...rder-wall.html

Update: There will be a news conference at 1pm today on omnibus spending bill.

So the first thing the president mentions is the possibility of a veto for DACA. Just a constant reminder of his day one broken promise. All of these months of the threats, the demonstrations, the George Soros funded dramas inflicted on the American people and lawmakers should open President Trump's eyes that any amnesty is not acceptable and illegal aliens will never be satisfied. These are not future Americans to want to keep or to be voters.

It is reported that ICE will receive less money, there will be less detention beds, so more "catch and release." There is no funding for a wall and hundreds of thousands of illegal are expected to cross.

Very disappointing.

White House confident Trump will sign omnibus despite veto threat


March 23, 2018


White House officials are confident President Trump will sign the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill approved by Congress despite his surprise threat via Twitter to veto the bill.


“I think we’ll be OK,” White House director of legislative affairs Marc Short told CNN.



Another official said the White House believes that Trump will ultimately sign the legislation.

“I think he just wanted to add a little drama,” the administration source told The Hill. “Everyone here is confident he'll sign it when it arrives at the White House.”

The legislation was approved easily in separate votes in the House on Thursday and the Senate early Friday morning, and Trump had earlier expressed support for the measure.
But it has come under intense criticism from the right, which may have influenced the president to weigh in with his unease about the bill. Trump complained that the legislation did not fully fund his wall on the Mexican border and that it did nothing to help young immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children, commonly known as "Dreamers."

“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,” Trump tweeted Friday morning.


If the president opts not to sign the bill, the government will shut down at midnight on Friday.



http://thehill.com/homenews/administ...te-veto-threat

Related:

Limbaugh: 'Guarantee' Trump Won't Sign Omnibus With No Border Wall

https://www.alipac.us/f9/limbaugh-gu...r-wall-357009/

President Trump speaks:

Ridiculous situation took place this week.

Wilbur Ross speaks about South Korea and trade. 232

Deep defense cuts over last 8 years.

Increases 60 billion dollars for defense.

(Secretary Mattis put extreme pressure on him)

I signed this omnibus bill. No one read it.

This thread ought to be axed.

Originally Posted by Jean

This thread ought to be axed.

I was hopeful but never really expected Trump to veto the bill. He has a tendency to launch empty threats.

What good is the best military in the world if you can't protect your own country from illegal immigration?

What good is the best military in the world if you can't protect your own country from illegal immigration?

Good one MW!