President Trump on Tuesday morning blasted House Republican lawmakers who have rejected his veto of the annual defense policy bill, and he called on the Senate to delay its approval of the legislation “until fixed.”
His comments follow weeks of disputes and repeated veto threats over its failure to repeal legal protections for social media giants, plus its renaming of military bases that are tributes to Confederates, and other objections.
“Weak and tired Republican ’leadership’ will allow the bad Defense Bill to pass. Say goodbye to VITAL Section 230 termination, your National Monuments, Forts (names!) and Treasures (inserted by Elizabeth ’Pocahontas’ Warren), 5G, and our great soldiers…….being removed and brought home from foreign lands who do NOTHING for us,” he tweeted. “A disgraceful act of cowardice and total submission by weak people to Big Tech. Negotiate a better Bill, or get better leaders, NOW! Senate should not approve NDAA until fixed!!!”
Last week, Mr. Trump vetoed the $740.5 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as promised, despite having passed with veto-proof majorities in both the House and Senate.
The defense policy bill sets annual priorities for defense spending and is considered essential by both parties.
On Monday, the House overwhelmingly voted to override Mr. Trump’s veto, setting up a vote in the Senate that is expected this week.
Lawmakers voted to override Mr. Trump’s veto by a 322-87 margin — 212 Democrats, 109 Republicans and one independent voted to reject the veto, while 20 Democrats, 66 Republicans and one independent voted to sustain it.
If the Senate successfully votes to reject the veto, it would mark the first presidential veto that is overridden in the Trump administration.
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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