Trump backs $1.3T spending bill after veto threat
President Donald Trump said Friday he will sign a $1.3 trillion spending bill, avoiding a shutdown of the federal government.
He had threatened to veto the bill, which passed the Senate early Friday morning, on concern over the omission of a “Dreamers” resolution and full funding of his proposed border wall. But he decided to sign the measure to secure an increase in military funding and $1.6 billion to begin construction of a wall on the nation’s southern border with Mexico, Trump explained during remarks at the White House.
“I will never sign a bill like this again,” he said, adding that he backed the plan as “a matter of national security.”
A potential veto cast a shadow over stocks early Friday. Investors were already weighing the impact of the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates and Trump’s move to impose tariffs on roughly $50 billion in Chinese imports. On Thursday, China responded by saying it’s considering tariffs of its own, targeting $3 billion in U.S. goods like steel, pork and wine.
“I think the stock market’s going to be great. The stock market is way up” since he took office, Trump said when asked whether he was concerned that tariffs have dragged on the market.
He added: “Last year, we lost $500 billion on trade with China. We can’t let that happen.”