White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said Monday that President Trump received what he wanted out of the spending bill despite his reservations on signing it.
Mr. Trump wanted to give the military their much-needed spending increase, but he still had reservations on parts of the bill such as the $1.6 billion allocated for the border wall, the spokesman explained.
“This is not an ending point. Actually for the president, it’s a starting point. We’ve got to do more to protect this nation. This bill is a start,” Mr. Gidley said on Fox News.
He also explained that Democrats are responsible for increasing the size of the bill by forcing Congress to match every military dollar toward a domestic spending project.
“We can’t get them all under our tent every time, but the president did get what he wanted and what he promised to do for the American people, which is rebuild the military and actually give a pay raise,” Mr. Gidley explained.
Despite a veto threat on Friday, Mr. Trump is pleased with what the spending bill will do for the military and the first steps toward his long promised wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, the deputy press secretary said.
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• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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