On Friday, the Senate overturned President Trump’s veto on the National Defense Authorization Act, the $ 740 billion defense policy law. This veto, in the waning days of Trump’s presidency, marked the first time Congress voted to overturn it.
The final sum of votes was from 81 to 13, with two-thirds needed to overturn the veto. The bill had already been passed in the Senate 84-13 earlier this month and the House has already voted to overturn Mr. Trump’s veto.
Trump tweeted after the vote that Republicans in the Senate had “lost a great opportunity to get rid of section 230,” one of the parts of the bill he had opposed. Trump wanted to remove the social media shield of responsibility, but several members of Congress, including some Republicans, argued that repealing section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was not relevant to national security. .
Trump also vetoed the NDAA because of a provision on renaming bases in honor of Confederate officials.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has linked a vote on repealing section 230 to a bill that would increase direct payments to Americans from $ 600 to $ 2,000. McConnell has repeatedly expressed opposition to the increase in direct payments, which is backed by Mr. Trump and some Republicans, and so linked it to a section 230 repeal, knowing that adding a controversial pilot would prevent his passage.
Trump has vetoed nine bills during his presidency, but none have been repealed. If he succeeds, it will be the first time one of his vetoes will be revoked. The NDAA is a critical defense bill that has passed every year for decades, so lifting the veto will not necessarily be a controversial vote for Republicans.
Republicans in Congress are still almost at odds with the president, and some refuse to acknowledge the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. Several House Republicans and at least one senator, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, are expected to challenge election results when Congress is convened to count the Electoral College votes on Jan. 6.
Some Republicans have criticized their colleagues for being willing to undermine the electoral process and challenge a duly elected president.
“Let’s be clear what’s going on here: we have a group of ambitious politicians who think there’s a quick way to take advantage of the president’s populist base without doing any real long-term damage,” Republican Sen. Ben Sasse wrote in a post on Facebook Thursday. “But they are wrong, and this issue is bigger than anyone’s personal ambitions. Adults don’t aim a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government.”