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Pence: Budget deal ‘no small accomplishment’ for administration

by Nikita Vladimirov 05/02/17 10:35 PM ET

Vice President Pence on Tuesday defended the latest government funding bill, arguing that getting the Democrats to agree to a $21 billion increase in defense spending is “no small accomplishment” for the administration.

“[L]et me be real clear. The No. 1 priority of President Trump is to rebuild our military, to restore the arsenal of democracy. And I gotta tell you, to get Democrats in Washington, D.C., to agree to a $21 billion increase in a short-term budget bill … it’s no small accomplishment,” Pence said during an interview with conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.

Limbaugh posed some tough questions to Pence, asking him, “What is the point of voting Republican if the Democrats are gonna continue to win practically 95 percent of their objectives, such as in this last budget deal?”

Pence disagreed, echoing Trump’s earlier comment that the deal is “actually a clear win for the American people.”

{mosads}The vice president also argued that the bill significantly benefits immigration enforcement, boosting funding for border security for another decade, though Democrats have crowed over the lack of funds for a physical border wall in the bill.

“Also, this bill includes the largest increase in border security funding in 10 years, with enough, as the president said, to make a down payment on a border wall,” he continued.

“We’re replacing ineffective and failing fencing and wall with an unbreakable barrier. We’re beginning to build the wall already, and look at the statistics, Rush. Illegal immigration, border crossings, are down more than 60 percent,” he added.

Pence maintained that the increase in defense spending in the budget bill sends a “decisive message to the world” about Trump’s leadership.

“I mean, in a very real sense this was a game-changer because we’re just back to putting the safety, security, and the national defense of the American people first, and I think it sends … a decisive message to the world that under President Trump’s leadership we’re gonna make the strongest military in history even stronger,” he said.

Many conservative commentators have been critical of the budget deal, arguing that it is a victory for the Democrats because many social programs and government agencies they’ve targeted will continue to get funding under the agreement.