Trump says he’ll sign spending bill to avert shutdown

President Trump said Wednesday he will sign a government funding bill being voted on in the House to avoid a government shutdown, despite previous criticism over the bill’s lack of funding for his border wall.
“We’re going to keep the government open,” Trump told reporters at a United Nations meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The House will vote Wednesday on a so-called minibus — a funding package that provides money for the Pentagon, as well as the departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services. The bill would keep the government open through Dec. 7.
{mosads}The package also includes more than $7 billion in disaster aid for victims of Hurricane Florence, which hit the Carolinas and parts of Virginia earlier this month.
If the package is not signed into law by the Sept. 30 deadline, those parts of the government will shut down.
Trump previously criticized the Senate version of the bill, questioning why it did not include funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
“I want to know, where is the money for Border Security and the WALL in this ridiculous Spending Bill, and where will it come from after the Midterms?” Trump asked in a tweet last week.
Trump’s rhetoric raised concerns among GOP lawmakers that he may reject the spending legislation and spark a government shutdown just weeks before the midterm elections.
The Senate passed the bill, 93-7, in a vote earlier this month, with six of the seven “no” votes coming from Republicans.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.