CONGRESS/ELECTION/GOVERNMENT/SPENDING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump signed an $854 billion spending bill on Friday [9-28-18] to keep the federal government open through Dec. 7, averting a government shutdown in the weeks leading up to November’s pivotal midterm elections. Trump signed the legislation to fund the military and several civilian agencies without journalists present as the fate of his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, continued to hang in the balance. The House and Senate approved the spending plan earlier this week. Trump said in a statement the legislation would ‘rebuild our military, protect our communities, and deliver a better future for all Americans.’ But the passage — which avoids a shutdown before the elections that will determine control of Congress — also comes without significant new funding for Trump’s long-promised and long-stalled wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, a fact he’s called ‘ridiculous.’ Trump has expressed deep frustration for months over Republican lawmakers’ failure to deliver on the centerpiece of his 2016 campaign, and had been threatening a government shutdown to try to force their hands.”
–The Associated Press, “Trump Signs Spending Plan, Avoiding Government Shutdown,” The New York Times online, September 28, 2018