WASHINGTON — The Democratic-controlled House voted to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a defense policy bill.
House members voted 322-87 to override the veto, well above the two-thirds needed to override. If approved by two-thirds of the Senate, the override would be the first of Trump’s presidency.
Trump rejected the defense bill last week, saying it failed to limit social media companies he claims were biased against him during his failed reelection campaign. Trump also opposes language that allows for the renaming of military bases that honor Confederate leaders.
The defense bill affirms 3% pay raises for U.S. troops and authorizes more than $740 billion in military programs and construction. It has broad bipartisan support in Congress.
Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, provoked swift condemnation, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling it “an act of staggering recklessness that harms our troops, endangers our security and undermines the will of the bipartisan Congress.”
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the bill “absolutely vital to our national security and our troops,’' adding, “Our men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform shouldn’t be denied what they need — ever.”
Trump has offered a series of rationales for rejecting the bill. He urged lawmakers to impose limits on Twitter and other social media companies he claimed are biased against him, as well as to strip out language that allows for the renaming of military bases such as Fort Benning and Fort Hood that honor Confederate leaders. Trump also claimed without evidence that the biggest winner from the defense bill would be China.
In his veto message, Trump also said the bill restricts his ability to conduct foreign policy, “particularly my efforts to bring our troops home.’' Trump was referring to provisions in the bill that impose conditions on his plan to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan and Germany. The measures require the Pentagon to submit reports certifying that the proposed withdrawals would not jeopardize U.S. national security.
The House and Senate passed the measure by margins large enough to override a presidential veto. Trump has vetoed eight other bills, but those were all sustained because supporters did not gain the two-thirds vote needed in each chamber for the bills to become law without Trump’s signature.
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