Trump threatens to veto massive spending bill

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Friday threatened to veto the $1.3 trillion spending bill just passed by Congress.

Trump tweeted that he was considering the move as the 800,000 recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program "have been totally abandoned by Democrats" and his long-promised border wall "is not fully funded."

The bill was approved early Friday in the Senate, following its passage through the House Thursday.

The White House had said Thursday that Trump would sign it because it "funds his priorities."

The federal government will be shut down unless the bill is signed by midnight on March 23.

The 2,300-page bipartisan, omnibus bill, which was made public on Wednesday, allows whopping spending increases for defense and domestic programs, while adding money for infrastructure projects, veterans and measures to combat the opioid crisis.

It also includes measures to strengthen gun sale background checks and improve school safety.

However, it provides only $1.6 billion for border security measures, including construction of a border wall with Mexico. This is far short of what the Trump administration has sought. It also fails to address the legal status of DACA recipients, also known as Dreamers.

The DACA program, created during the Obama presidency, was terminated by Trump last fall.