Playin Tha Playas: Trump And The Omnibus Bill

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For everyone out there who feels betrayed by President Trump for signing the Omnibus Spending Bill, let me put your minds at ease. This was a spending appropriations bill, NOT a budget. All of the items in the bill are suggestions by Congress that the president has discretion over spending money on... he's in no way obligated to fund any of those programs. He can invoke the Gramm, Rudman, Hollings Act of 1986 for emergency deficit control and cite National Security as a means for determining what funds are allocated to which programs. He's already declared a state of national emergency with an Executive Order- he can allocate as much for the wall as he sees fit- it's a national security issue.

Conversely, he can defund Planned Parenthood if he wants. Congress got played- they already allocated the money... they're out of it now. President Trump has autonomy as to where the money goes. The Democrats can sue and undoubtedly will, but no court in the country will rule against national security. There were a few riders attached to the bill that were pretty bad... particularly where internet surveillance was beefed up. However, compared to what was gained, the trade-off should turn out well for "the good guys." Remember, politics is a game of give and take and compromise, nobody gets all of what they want. President Trump said this was the last bill like this that would ever be signed... what he likely meant is that when the Democrats see how badly they were betrayed they'll be unlikely to present another.

So be of good cheer- all is not lost. This was just an appropriations bill that gives the Trump administration $1.3 Trillion to use as they see fit. And to the Democrats... Don't hate the playa- hate the game!