Trump still plans to veto defense spending bill
President Donald Trump’s vow to veto the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act places Capitol Hill in a bind and could lead to Congress having to return to session between Christmas and New Year’s.
Trump has until December 23 to veto the defense bill as he has threatened or to allow the measure to become law, which would set policy for the Department of Defense next year.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday that Trump plans to veto the NDAA over objections beyond the absence of a Section 230 repeal, though she didn’t say when.
“He does still plan to veto the NDAA. I don’t have a timeline for you on that. But he does plan to veto it,” McEnany said during a White House press briefing.
Both the House and the Senate passed the annual defense authorization bill last week with wide bipartisan majorities, plenty to override a presidential veto.
Trump’s threat to veto the bill has drawn swift and sharp bipartisan pushback from lawmakers who have argued that Trump is using leverage over the troops to settle personal scores. But the potential veto has left Republicans split over the issue.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said his members will vote to sustain the President’s veto should the measure come back to the House, which could drop the initial 335-78-1 vote below the threshold to override the veto, breaking the 59-consecutive-year-passage of the NDAA.
Even if the House votes has enough votes to override the veto, the process for doing so in the Senate will take several days unless all senators agree to expedite the process.
If Trump were to veto the bill this week, Congress might have enough time to vote to override the veto while it finishes passing a government funding bill and an emerging stimulus deal.
But Senate Armed Services Chairman Jim Inhofe suggested that if the President waited to veto the legislation, it could force the Senate to return between Christmas and New Year’s for an override vote.
“He has up to 10 days, so if he takes that time, that would have to be sometime between Christmas and New Year’s, which would mean probably having to come back for that purpose, which doesn’t excite many people,” Inhofe said.
Inhofe suggested not all senators might return for such a vote, which would need a two-thirds majority of those voting to override a veto.
The $740 billion bill includes pay raises for America’s soldiers, modernizations for equipment and provisions to require more scrutiny before troops are withdrawn from Germany or Afghanistan, but that hasn’t stopped Trump’s threats against it.
If Trump successfully vetoes the NDAA it would impact “special pay” for thousands of US service members across the military branches. Special pay includes raises for service members in highly-skilled positions where there is a lot of competition with the private sector for personnel.
Trump has said he opposes the bill because would require the renaming of Confederate generals from military basis and because it doesn’t repeal Section 230, a law that shields internet companies from being liable for what is posted on their websites by them or third parties.
