Trump signs $1.3 trillion budget after threatening veto

President Donald Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending measure Friday, averting a midnight government shutdown just hours after declaring he was considering a veto.

Trump said he was "very disappointed" in the package, in part because it did not fully fund his plans for a border wall with Mexico and did not address some 700,000 "Dreamer" immigrants who are now protected from deportation under a program that he has moved to eliminate.

But Trump praised the increases the bill provides for military spending and said there was "no choice but to fund our military."

"My highest duty is to keep America safe," he said.

The bill signing came a few hours after Trump created last-minute drama by saying in a tweet that he was "considering" a veto.

With Congress already on recess, and a government shutdown looming, he said young immigrants now protected in the US under Barack Obama's Delayed Action for Childhood Arrivals "have been totally abandoned by the Democrats [not even mentioned in Bill] and the border wall, which is desperately needed for our National Defence, is not fully funded."

Trump's veto threat was at odds with top members of his administration and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who had said on Thursday that he was supportive of the measure. 

The White House also issued a formal statement of administration policy indicating Trump would sign the bill. Several advisers inside and outside the White House said earlier on Friday that they suspected the tweet was just Trump blowing off steam.

Finally, in made-for-TV scheduling, Trump took to twitter again to announce he'd be holding a news conference to talk about the bill. The drama was short-lived: an aide told reporters the signing was on. And telegraphing the outcome, an internal television feed advertised its next program: "President Trump Participates in a Bill Signing."

Asked why he'd made the threat, Trump said he'd "looked very seriously at the veto," but "because of the incredible gains that we've been able to make for the military that overrode any of our thinking."

One-time thing

Trump also warned Congress, "I will never sign another bill like this again."

The will he, won't he episode came hours after the Senate early Friday morning passed the $1.3 trillion spending package aimed at keeping the government open past midnight.

Trump has been increasingly frustrated with media coverage of the bill, spurred on by conservative Republican lawmakers and other critics who had spent recent days calling the president, inciting him, and making their cases loudly on cable news shows Trump is known to watch.

Senate passage of the bill averted a third federal shutdown this year, an outcome both parties wanted to avoid.

While Trump has repeatedly criticised Democrats over DACA, he cancelled the program last fall, ending the issuance of new DACA permits. A judge has forced the administration to continue issuing renewals.

The spending package includes $1.6 billion for Trump's long-promised border wall with Mexico. But less than half of the nearly 95 miles (153 kilometers) of border construction that has been approved can be spent on new barriers. The rest can only be used to repair existing segments.