WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump on Friday signed a $1.3 trillion bill to fund government agencies after a last-minute threat to veto the measure _ a step that likely would have triggered a government shutdown.
In a hastily called signing ceremony at the White House, Trump railed against a "ridiculous situation" in which he was being asked to sign a bill that failed to fund his proposed border wall.
But "as crazy as it's been," he said, he had to sign the bill because of the military spending increases it included.
"There are a lot of things I'm unhappy about in this bill," he said, vowing never to sign another such piece of legislation. But, he added, the military budget took precedence. "My highest duty is to keep America safe, nothing more important."
Friday morning, he had threatened to veto the bill.
There would have been little recourse if Trump had gone through with his threat. Many lawmakers have left town for spring recess, and a veto would have assured at least a partial government shutdown.
Just a day earlier, Trump's budget director told reporters that Trump would sign the bill and that it had "a lot of what we wanted on immigration." White House officials also had assured congressional leaders that Trump would approve the bill.
