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U.S. NEWS A3
Trump signs $1.3 trillion budget after 'reality show' drama
Continued from Front
Trump said he was "very
disappointed" in the pack-
age, in part because it did
not fully pay for his planned
border wall with Mexico
and did not extend pro-
tection from deportation
to some 700,000 "Dreamer"
immigrants due to lose cov-
erage under a program
the president himself has
moved to eliminate.
But Trump praised the bill's
provisions to increase mili-
tary spending and said he
had "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 cre-
ated his latest round of last-
minute drama by tweeting
that he was "considering" a
veto.
With Congress already on
recess, and a government
shutdown looming, he said
that young immigrants now
protected in the U.S. under
Barack Obama's Delayed
Action for Childhood Ar-
rivals program "have been
totally abandoned by the
Democrats (not even men-
tioned in Bill) and the BOR-
DER WALL, which is des-
perately needed for our
National Defense, is not
fully funded."
Trump's veto threat put him
at odds with top members
of his administration and
First lady talks of courage after model describes affair
By D. SUPERVILLE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Me-
lania Trump spoke about
courage on Friday — what it
is and why the world needs
it. Her closely watched
public appearance came
a day after a former Play-
boy model told the world
details of a 10-month af-
fair the model says she
had with a married Donald
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., speaks during a news conference about the massive
government spending bill moving through Congress, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday,
March 22, 2018.
Republican House Speak-
er Paul Ryan, who had
said publicly that Trump
supported the bill. Advis-
ers inside and outside the
White House said they nev-
er expected Trump to go
through with his threat and
believed he was likely just
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.
Trump a decade before he
was elected president.
If the relationship Karen Mc- plush chair and listened as
Dougal alleges was on the
first lady's mind, she gave
no hint of it.
A standing ovation greet-
ed a smiling Mrs. Trump as
she entered a State De-
partment auditorium for an
annual awards ceremony
honoring non-U.S. women
The drama was short-lived:
An aide told reporters the
signing was on. And it was
a monologue by Trump,
not a news conference. He
answered two questions
called out to him as he left
the room.
Asked why he'd made the
threat, Trump said he'd
"looked very seriously at the called for an overhaul of
veto," but "because of the
incredible gains that we've
been able to make for the
military that overrode any
of our thinking."
for acts of courage. She
took her seat on stage in a
State Department official
Heather Nauert introduced
her as a philanthropist and
humanitarian who is fo-
cused on the well-being
of children and who works
tirelessly to raise awareness this world. Yet, it is often the
of the damaging effects of
opioid addiction and cy-
Saturday 24 March 2018
ing items he disagrees with.
The Supreme Court ruled in
1998 that a congressionally
passed line-item veto was
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) unconstitutional.
The will-he, won't-he epi-
He warned Congress: "I will sode came hours after the
never sign another bill like Senate's early morning pas-
this again." sage of the huge spending
The giant spending bill, package aimed at keep-
though, expires Sept. 30, ing the government open
and another funding mea- past Friday midnight.
sure will be needed. To Trump backed the bill only
boost the party-in-power's reluctantly, and Republi-
ability to muscle its agen- can lawmakers and aides
da through Congress, he acknowledged the deal in-
volved trade-offs for Dem-
Senate rules to allow for ocratic votes that were
simple-majority votes on needed despite the GOP
all bills and appealed to majority lock on Congress.
Congress for line-item veto The president had been es-
power to kill specific spend- pecially frustrated in recent
days by media coverage
of the bill and by conserva-
tive Republican lawmak-
ers, some of whom had
been calling to harangue
him and making their cases
loudly on cable news shows
he is known to watch.
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-
N.C., chairman of the
House Freedom Caucus
and a friend of the presi-
dent, said in a tweet that
the group would "fully sup-
port" a veto, adding that
Congress should pass a
short-term budget resolu-
tion while Trump and con-
gressional leaders "negoti-
ate a better deal for the
forgotten men and women
of America."q
berbullying. lieve in a higher calling and
Then it was Mrs. Trump's turn those who act on it.
to speak. "It takes courage not only
"As we recognize these to see wrong, but strive to
incredible women, let us right it," she continued.
think for a moment about The first lady said "we can
what courage truly is," the teach young women and
first lady said. "Courage is girls all over the world what
the quality most needed in it means to have cour-
age and to be a hero" by
hardest to find. Courage publicizing the honorees'
sets apart those who be- stories.q