Trump to sign budget deal after raising government shutdown threat

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump was expected to sign Congress’ newly passed $1.3 trillion spending bill on Friday, a White House official said, ending suspense over a threat he made hours earlier to veto the budget and shut down the federal government.

In the latest episode of the Republican president throwing his White House, Congress, and the federal government off balance, Trump had threatened in an early morning tweet to kill the government funding deal ahead of a midnight deadline because he was displeased about immigration issues.

His threat had caught his own aides by surprise, as well as lawmakers in the Republican-dominated Senate and House of Representatives, who had already left Washington for a scheduled two-week spring recess.