Secretary of Defense James Mattis reportedly warned President Donald Trump against vetoing the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill.
According to Fox News, Mattis frantically called the White House Friday morning after POTUS tweeted he was “considering” thumbs-downing the bill to keep the government open.
Fox’s Chad Pergram reports that Hill staffers believed Trump could “flatline defense if he’s not careful.”
Fox has learned DefSec Mattis is calling Trump about the possibility of losing all defense increases if he blows up Omnibus. Sr Hill Source says Trump “is going to flatline defense if he’s not careful.”
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) March 23, 2018
NEWS ALERT: Secretary Mattis calling @POTUS to warn of threat to defense spending if budget is vetoed. https://t.co/Q2UXfbOYfL pic.twitter.com/HPaZR71z1l
— Fox News (@FoxNews) March 23, 2018
Trump flipped a possible veto onto congressional Democrats Friday morning, though he ultimately decided to sign the bill Friday afternoon.
I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2018
DACA was abandoned by the Democrats. Very unfair to them! Would have been tied to desperately needed Wall.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 23, 2018
Trump’s comments come just after he received unprecedented praise from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The New York Democrat said Thursday that the President was “exactly right” to impose new tariffs on China. (RELATED: Schumer Praises Trump In Senate Speech)
“I don’t agree with President Trump on a whole lot, but today I want to give him a big pat on the back,” he stated. “He is doing the right thing when it comes to China.”
Schumer additionally criticized Presidents Bush and Obama by name for failing to act against the Chinese economic threat.
WATCH: