The Senate passed the omnibus spending bill around 1 a.m. Friday morning, after twelve hours of frantic negotiating.
A few hours later, President Trump tweeted that he is considering vetoing the $1.3 trillion bill.
The president cited the lack of a legislative fix for the young illegal immigrants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, as well as the lack of funding for his border wall, in hinting at a veto.
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
Democrats have “totally abandoned” the 800,000 or more DACA recipients, Trump charged.
The president ordered in September the winding down of the Obama-era program, the constitutionality of which has been questioned. However, federal courts have blocked the president’s order, giving Congress time to delay finding a legislative solution to the DACA impasse.
The omnibus bill passed the House easily, but faced a rockier path in the Senate despite ultimately sailing through on a 65–32 vote.
“My principal responsibility is begging, pleading, and cajoling. I have been in continuous discussions, shall I say, with several of our members who were legitimately unhappy,” Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said.
McConnell’s fellow Kentucky senator Rand Paul threatened to force a shutdown over the “Obama spending and trillion-dollar deficits” the bill approves. It took a private call from McConnell to convince him to back down.
“There are never any amendments on anything, and it’s very closed process. The bills are developed behind closed doors with very little input from rank and file. So I think I got that message across,” Paul said of his call with McConnell.
The text of the 2,200-page bill was released at 8 p.m. Wednesday, prompting complaints from Paul and other legislators that they wouldn’t have time to read it before it came up for a vote.