President Trump Signs Bill To Avert Government Shutdown
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WASHINGTON (CBS/CNN) — President Trump has signed a massive spending bill, avoiding a government shutdown.
A White House aide says President Trump signed the bill privately Friday with a few lawmakers.
There was some uncertainty over whether the president would sign the appropriations bill since he was giving mixed signals on signing it due to lack of money for a wall at the U.S.-Mexico Border.
Top congressional Republicans made it clear to the president that the political fallout of a shutdown, even a small one, would be potentially devastating ahead of the midterm elections.
The president was sending mixed signals over whether he would sign the bill because of its lack of money for his signature campaign promise of a border wall. As recently as six days ago, Trump tweeted a demand to know where the money is for a border wall in what he called this "ridiculous" spending bill. "REPUBLICANS MUST FINALLY GET TOUGH!"
However, Trump suggested Wednesday that he would approve it, saying at the end of a meeting, "We'll keep the government open."
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The House overwhelmingly approved the bill Wednesday 362-61.
The bill includes a continuing resolution to provide money for the remaining unfunded parts of the government until Dec. 7.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. CNN contributed to this report.)
