President Trump on Friday asked Congress to provide him with a line-item veto on spending bills, as he signed a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending package that includes provisions he doesn’t like.
“To prevent the omnibus situation from ever happening again, I’m calling on Congress to give me a line-item veto for all government spending bills,” Trump said at an event at the White House.
The Supreme Court in 1998 ruled that legislation giving then-President Clinton a line-item veto for tax and spending provisions was unconstitutional.
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Trump signed the spending bill after saying earlier Friday that he was considering vetoing the measure since it didn’t address recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and provide full funding for a wall along the southern border.
Later, Trump said the spending bill is too large because Republicans had to agree to spending sought by Democrats in exchange for increased military spending. He called the Democrats’ demands “a wasted sum of money.” He also blamed them for the bill’s lack of provisions to protect DACA recipients.
In addition to pushing for a line-item veto, Trump also reiterated his calls for the Senate to end its filibuster rule that requires most legislation to be supported by 60 Senators, rather than a simple majority.
“We have to get rid of the filibuster rule,” he said. “We have to get rid of the filibuster rule and go to 51 votes in the Senate if we’re going to have really sustained, continued success.”