(Presidentialwire.com)- As thousands of Americans were left stranded at airports across the country last week, the White House was flying the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill down to St. Croix where President Biden was enjoying a tropical island vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Last Thursday, the White House confirmed to NBC News that the 4,150-page bill was taken to St. Croix by a White House staffer on a regularly-scheduled commercial flight and had been signed by the vacationing Biden.
Rubbing salt into the wounds, the president posted a photo of himself on Twitter showing him signing the massive, pork-filled bill. In his tweet, Biden claimed that signing the bill capped off “a year of historic progress.”
He claimed that the legislation that was supposed to “fund the government” included investments in “medical research, safety, veteran health care, disaster recovery, VAWA funding,” not to mention “crucial assistance to Ukraine,” which everybody knows is vital in funding the US government.
The president and First Lady Jill Biden, along with other Biden family members, flew to St. Croix late last Tuesday where they stayed at the home of wealthy Democrat donors Bill and Connie Neville.
The Senate passed the $1.7 trillion monstrosity the previous Thursday with the help of 18 Senate Republicans.
The 18 Republicans who voted with their Democrat colleagues were Roy Blunt (MO), John Boozman (AR), Shelley Moore Capito (WV), Susan Collins (ME), John Cornyn (TX), Tom Cotton (AR), Lindsey Graham (SC), Jim Inhofe (OK), Mitch McConnell (KY), Jerry Moran (KS), Lisa Murkowski (AK), Robert Portman (OH), Mitt Romney (UT), Mike Rounds (SD), Richard Shelby (AL), John Thune (SD), Roger Wicker (MS), and Todd Young (IN).
The following day, the House approved the bill, largely along party lines.
Nine House Republicans joined the Democrats in voting to finalize the spending bill, including the seven outgoing Republicans Liz Cheney, John Katko, Chris Jacobs, Fred Upton, Rodney Davis, Jamie Herrera Beutler, and CNN’s newest employee Adam Kinzinger.
Republican Congressmen Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Steve Womack of Arkansas also supported the measure.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was the only Democrat to vote against the bill.
