Defying President Trump, a Republican-majority Senate panel Thursday added a provision to a massive defense policy bill that would require the Pentagon to change the name of military bases and other assets named after Confederate Civil War figures.
The Senate Armed Services Committee move comes just one day after Mr. Trump flatly declared that he “will not even consider” renaming post such as North Carolina’s Fort Bragg, Virginia’s Fort Lee or any other of the 10 Army installations that bear the names of Confederate figures.
The argument has become a hot-button issues in the wake of nationwide protests against racism and police brutality, but Mr. Trump sharply criticized the name-change push, arguing the forts have served as key training grounds for patriotic American soldiers who went on to fight in World War II and other conflicts.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat who authored the amendment to the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) mark-up, tweeted Thursday that “Donald Trump should listen to his own party members and Pentagon leaders who recognize that it’s time to respect generations of loyal U.S. servicemembers and rename these bases.”
The amendment would create an eight-person commission that will “study and provide recommendations concerning the removal, names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America.”
Pentagon officials signaled this week they were open to discussing dropping the Confederate names, but Mr. Trump on Thursday afternoon said GOP senators must not “fall for” the move to rename the bases and appears certain to veto the bill if the Warren amendment survives.
Although the amendment passed on a voice vote, committee Chairman Sen. James Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican, told reporters that he does not agree with the move and he thinks “that we should have state input in this thing.”
Sen. Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican, meanwhile said “I don’t have any problem with that at all.”
“If you want to name them after soldiers, there’s been lots of great soldiers since the Civil War,” Mr. Blunt, who chairs the Senate Republican Policy Committee, told reporters.
Just this week, the Navy and Marine Corps banned the use of the Confederate flag from public spaces, aircraft and ships.
The amendment is part of a massive $740.5 billion budget policy plan that was approved by the Senate panel on Wednesday in a vote behind closed doors. The annual NDAA sets budget targets, but also traditionally lays out policy on a broad range of issues affecting the military, strategy and the rank and file.
The Senate version proposes a 3% pay raise for the troops, over $9 billion for a fleet of new F-35 fighter jets, $6 billion to confront China, and new mandates on raising military housing standards.
In the wake of anti-racism protests across the country, and Mr. Trump’s threat to deploy active-duty military forces to help contain such demonstrations, Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia Democrat, successfully included an amendment to the bill that would prohibit using military funds “against American citizens exercising their First Amendment rights.”
“This shouldn’t be a partisan issue,” Mr. Kaine said in a statement following the amendment’s approval.
The Republican-led Senate panel’s version of the bill saw swift, bipartisan support for the second consecutive year, as it now heads to the Senate floor for a full-chamber vote. The Democratic-led House Armed Services Committee will consider its version of the NDAA later this month.
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.