Instead, Mr. Trump has proved unable to find a way to negotiate victories on some of his highest priorities. “I looked very seriously at the veto,” Mr. Trump told reporters. Within hours, Mr. Mattis was in the Oval Office with Mr. Trump telling him the level of military spending was “historic,” according to a senior White House official. At times, he seemed to direct blame for the spending bill on Republican lawmakers. Sensing a political advantage, Democrats were unperturbed by Mr. Trump’s veto threat fire drill.

Source: New York Times March 23, 2018 13:20 UTC