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“I Will Never Sign A Bill Like This Again”, Says Trump As He Signs In A $1.3 Trillion Bill Averting A Government Shutdown
Swarajya Staff
Mar 24, 2018, 10:31 AM | Updated 10:31 AM IST
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Hours after threatening to veto a $1.3 trillion bill to fund the federal government for the next six months, United States President Donald Trump finally signed the bill, reports The Wall Street Journal. Trump was reportedly unhappy with provisions in the bill relating to immigration. The bill was passed in the House of Representatives on Thursday (22 March) and the Senate on Friday (23 March), and it was expected that Trump would give his assent before the government’s funding expires at midnight on Saturday.
Trump said that he signed the omnibus budget bill as a matter of national security and that there were many things in the bill that he wasn’t happy with.
I say to Congress—I will never sign another bill like this again.United States President Donald Trump
Trump had earlier tweeted out that he was unhappy with the budget for the wall along the United States-Mexico border and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that was initiated by his predecessor Barack Obama.
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 bill did not address the extension of the DACA which allows undocumented immigrants who enter the country at a young age – also known as Dreamers – to temporarily work in the country without deportation. Trump decided to end the program in September and gave the Congress a deadline of 5 March to bring in a replacement to prevent people from losing protection under DACA. However a federal court blocked the move and ordered the government to continue on with it. The Supreme Court had declined to expedite the government’s appeal to end it.
Both Democrats and Republicans urged Trump to drop his veto threat and sign the bill.
The bill also includes $5.17 billion for construction of physical barriers along the United States-Mexico border along with other security measures. Trump got funding for about 53 km (33 miles) of new fencing along the border – half of what he had requested – along with funding for 96 km (60 miles) to fund replacement fencing.
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