I agree, vetoing this abomination would be a good idea.

You know what would have been a better idea? Making clear that the bill would be vetoed before Congress voted on it and began leaving town for their two-week break, with a shutdown looming. Republicans rubber-stamped the omnibus having been led by the White House to believe that Trump would sign it. If he had warned them sooner that that wasn’t happening, they could have passed a short-term CR to keep the government funded instead. And if Democrats had balked at that, at least they’d be at risk of being blamed for the shutdown. Instead, if Trump blows up a bill that’s already passed with bipartisan support, Schumer will have an easy time framing this as “the Trump shutdown.”

Here’s a small reminder, though, that not all Fox primetime hosts are created equal. Ingraham and Carlson will occasionally put policy pressure on POTUS, although with Carlson it’s usually immigration that’s the impetus.

There is NO WAY @realDonaldTrump shd sign this #Omnibus bill. It betrays his campaign pledges and mortgages the millennials’ future.

— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 23, 2018

Absolutely right— @realDonaldTrump shd take the time to explain why the #omnibus must be ripped up. Stand w/ the ppl ag the big spenders. Bring Congress back. Make them defend the shameful process & the failure to fund the president’s priorities.

— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) March 23, 2018

Good points, but mortgaging the millennials’ future, i.e. going deeper into debt, isn’t Trump’s problem with the bill. He doesn’t hate it because it spends too much, he hates it because it doesn’t spend enough. He wants more money for the border wall. And … amnesty! He wants a deal on DREAMers. Those are his sticking points, not the fact that we’re adding another trillion in debt.

Ann Coulter noticed:

Threatened veto NOT over the 'F– You' on the Wall — but over the DREAMERS. Can I sign up with Mueller? https://t.co/CbWleAUE1C

— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 23, 2018

Didn’t the GOP win a messaging war with Democrats over a shutdown not long ago by reminding the public that Chuck Schumer was willing to turn off the lights on the federal government just to win amnesty for DREAMers? Now here’s Trump willing to turn off the lights to win amnesty for DREAMers. Huh.

The momentous question as of 12:40 p.m. ET: Is he serious about the veto or just venting before he caves?

“He is serious. Not a threat,” said one source close to the White House.

But others questioned whether Trump would move to reject a bill both chambers of Congress had already passed.

“I doubt he’ll kill it at the end of the day, but if the threat gets GOP leaders to move on other issues, it was worth every second of uncertainty,” said a second source close to the White House.

The word from Fox News is that Mattis was on the horn to Trump this morning warning him that a veto could “flatline defense,” probably the strongest argument that can be made to POTUS not to pull the trigger. I think he’ll sign it. But, Trump being Trump, his mind might change in the next 20 minutes and then change back five minutes after that:

Where Things Are At the WH:

Those who favor Trump signing the omnibus believe they have turned him back away from his veto threat with the argument that the increase in military spending by itself warrants his support.

But: "I don't know that anyone knows anything definitely."

— S.V. Dáte (@svdate) March 23, 2018

Trump tweeted just minutes ago that there’ll be a news conference at the White House on the bill at 1 p.m. ET. Stand by for updates. In the meantime, lefties are theorizing that this comment by Pete Hegseth on Trump’s favorite show this morning might have tilted him against the bill. It’s not a crazy theory; Trump speaks to Hegseth occasionally and has allegedly considered him to head the VA. Eventually half of Fox News’s talent stable will be working in the White House. Right, John Bolton?

Update: David Martosko’s reading more into this than I would:

https://twitter.com/dmartosko/status/977224490101985281

If we’ve learned nothing else over the last 10 days, it’s that Trump’s communications team has basically zero idea of his intentions at any given moment.

Update: The AP says it’s a go. Mattis wins.

BREAKING: White House official: Trump to sign $1.3 trillion spending bill hours after tweeting he was considering veto.

— The Associated Press (@AP) March 23, 2018

Don’t forget, though: Up until the minute he made the announcement a few weeks ago that he was imposing steel and aluminum tariffs, White House staff were under the impression that they had talked him out of it. No one knows what will happen.

Update: He’s signing this garbage bill, but this’ll be the last garbage bill he signs.

"I will never sign another bill like this again," Trump says, after saying he has signed the bill. "Nobody read it."

— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) March 23, 2018

Spoiler: He will, in fact, sign more garbage bills because that’s the only thing the congressional GOP are capable of producing.

He’s right about this being a “ridiculous situation,” though.

President Trump discusses his administration's trade restrictions before referring to the omnibus spending bill as "this ridiculous situation that took place over the last week" https://t.co/pyTUIil9zW

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) March 23, 2018

Update: Trump fans are taking the border-wall sellout in stride.

CONGRATULATIONS, PRESIDENT SCHUMER!

— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 23, 2018

“ I will never sign another bill like this again”

Yeah, because you’ll be impeached.

— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) March 23, 2018

Update: Now Drudge is dunking on him. Veto? FAKE NEWS!

https://twitter.com/DRUDGE/status/977242191750975493