Which Dem Priorities Does Trump Think Are Wastes?

Following the release of the bipartisan omnibus agreement last night, Donald Trump tweeted that he “had to waste money on Dem giveaways.” We’re curious though, which Democratic priorities does he think are wastes?

Is it billions of dollars in new funding to combat the opioid epidemic? 

The Hill: “The $1.3 trillion spending package allocates around $4 billion to the opioid epidemic, much of which is new money appropriated this year. The omnibus includes $1 billion in new grants to states and tribes to fight the epidemic, at least $500 million for a new National Institutes of Health (NIH) effort to research opioid addiction, a $350 million increase to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for prevention and surveillance, $130 million to help rural communities deal with the crisis, and more.”

Is it roughly $10 billion for new infrastructure programs, including rural broadband?

Roll Call: “Roughly $10 billion is also devoted to infrastructure programs like road and transit projects, rural broadband and more.”

Is it funding for election security and money to defend against Russian cyberattacks?

NPR: “According to a source familiar with negotiations, Congress is set to approve $380 million for election technology grants that states can apply for to improve their voting systems, and another $307 million to help the FBI fight Russian cyberattacks.”

Is it increased funding for veterans’ hospitals? 

PBS: “An increase of $2 billion will go to veterans’ hospital maintenance and backlogged construction projects.”

Is it millions of dollars in funding for student loan forgiveness?

Inside Higher Ed: “It also includes about $350 million in funding to address eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, a top priority for Senator Elizabeth Warren throughout negotiations to fund the government through the rest of the 2018 fiscal year.”

Is it doubling funding for child care for low-income working families?

The Hill: “The spending bill released Wednesday would double the amount of funding for child care for low-income working families. The Child Care Development Block Grant would see a $2.3 billion increase in fiscal year 2018, bringing the program’s total to $5.2 billion. If passed, it would be the largest single-year increase in the program’s history.”

The real waste would have been funding for Trump’s border wall. Fortunately, Trump lost on his wall yet again. 

GOP Rep. Mark Meadows: “There is really no wall funding. People will try to spin it as there is wall funding, but the [$1.6 billion] has been in there for some time.”

Washington Post: “Democrats pressed particularly hard to block Trump’s requests to fund a new wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and to beef up immigration enforcement capacity. The bill includes $1.6 billion in funding for construction of a border wall, but that number is far short of the $25 billion in long-term funding that the administration sought. Democrats also won tight restrictions on how that money can be spent.”