On Sunday night President Trump signed the $2.3 trillion COVID-19 relief and government omnibus funding bill while evoking a little used mandate requesting rescissions under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.

The act suggests Trump can redline line item spending which makes up a large portion of the law. The line-item vetoes will allow Congress to fund the increase of $2,000 payment to all Americans.

In a signing statement Trump offers these caveats.

I will sign the Omnibus and Covid package with a strong message that makes clear to Congress that wasteful items need to be removed. I will send back to Congress a redlined version, item by item, accompanied by the formal rescission request to Congress insisting that those funds be removed from the bill.

I am signing this bill to restore unemployment benefits, stop evictions, provide rental assistance, add money for PPP, return our airline workers back to work, add substantially more money for vaccine distribution, and much more.

Given what we have seen from Congress recently, I have little hope that they will act on behalf of the American people and reduce the foreign aid pork that is currently in the omnibus law.

However, one way to curtail this spending in the future is to follow this money. See where the Pakistani gender study funding ultimately winds up. Does it return to the US in a form of a political campaign donation?

I have little hope that Congress will pass the additional $1,400 for all Americans anytime before Jan. 21, 2021.

Lastly, I hope all my subscribers had a joyous Christmas holiday weekend.