Trump Stuns DC With Threat to Veto Budget Bill

He's upset it doesn't deal with Dreamers or his proposed border wall
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 23, 2018 8:38 AM CDT
Trump Stuns DC With Threat to Veto Budget Bill
President Trump is threatening a veto.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Congress passed a last-hour spending bill early Friday, but the risk of a government shutdown remains: President Trump is threatening to veto the $1.3 trillion spending plan, reports the Hill. Trump complained that the measure doesn't address the fate of young, undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers and doesn't fund his proposed border wall. "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," he tweeted.

So now what? That's unclear, because "Capitol Hill is totally unprepared for the threat," per Politico. Lawmakers already had begun leaving DC for a two-week recess. The Washington Post notes that White House officials said Thursday that Trump would sign the measure and did not flag any potential concerns. Trump had been looking for a deal in which Republicans would agree to provide protection for Dreamers under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in exchange for border wall funding. (More President Trump stories.)

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