Obama Issues Omnibus Signing Statement

Two days after he promised to roll back the use of presidential signing statements (and ordered the heads of federal agencies to ignore those issued by his predecessor), President Obama issued his first signing statement Wednesday as he set Congress's $410 billion omnibus spending bill into law. Among the provisions he took issue with: restrictions on funding for UN peacekeeping missions and sections that, according to Obama's statement, sought to grant congressional committees power over spending.

In his statment, Obama was sure to point out that on Monday he said signing statements are "a legitimate constitutional function"; perhaps foreseeing today's statement on Monday, Obama's memo earlier this week made specific mention of omnibus legislation as a reason why signing statements can be useful.