WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump on Sunday issued a new rationale for threatening to veto the annual security policy bill. This includes the military budget for equipment and pay rises for service members: China. He did not outline his concerns.
Republicans and Democrat lawmakers say the broader security policy bill sent to the president by the Senate on Friday will be tougher on China and should become law as soon as possible.
Both the House and the Senate were passed by enough margins to circumvent a possible veto from the president, who has a history of failing to commit acts of intimidation.
“China is the biggest winner of our new security bill! I will veto it!” Trump said in a new tweet.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s specific concerns about China.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the bill would help prevent the Chinese occupation. Second-ranked Senate President Sen. of South Dakota. Other GOP supporters have tweeted that the bill faces threats from countries, including John Dune and Wisconsin representative Mike Gallagher, a member of the House Arms Services Committee. Such as China.
Rhode Island’s Sen, a top Democrat in the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Trump’s claim that China was the biggest winner in the defense bill was wrong. Jack Reid said. Reid also noted Trump’s alternative explanations for the veto threats.
“President Trump did not read the bill clearly and he did not understand what was in it,” Reid said. “There are many more two-party rules here that make the Trump administration tougher on China than ever before.”
This is Trump’s first time violating a veto and will come long before he leaves office. 20. Two-thirds of the vote is needed in every room to pass a bill without Trump’s signature.
The president has made several threats on Twitter to veto the bill on the condition that military bases calling for federal leaders to eventually be renamed. He also threatened a veto to try to force lawmakers to include rules – unrelated to the military and national security – to punish social media companies he claims are biased against him during the election.
The bill, known as the National Security Accreditation Act, has been approved by Congress for nearly 60 years. The current version guarantees a 3% pay rise for U.S. troops and authorizes more than $ 740 billion in military projects and construction.
The move guides Pentagon policy and confirms decisions on troop positions, new armaments and military readiness, personnel policy and other military goals. Many projects can only come into effect if the bill is approved, including military construction.
McConnell, in a rare break with Trump, insisted on the passage despite Trump threatening to veto it. McConnell said it was important for Congress to continue its nearly six-decade series in passing the Security Policy Bill.
In addition to the budget and wage increases, the bill will “keep our forces ready to block China and stand strong in the Indo-Pacific region,” McConnell said.
Last week, Gallagher tweeted that the United States was at the start of a “new Cold War” with China and that the security bill “takes important steps for us to meet these challenges and ultimately win this competition.” Dune said in a tweet that the move would help protect the United States against threats from China and Russia. “It is important that this bill becomes law soon,” he said.
Trump tweeted last Tuesday that he would veto a “very weak” security bill if it did not repeal Section 230, part of the Communications Code that protects Twitter, Facebook and other technology companies from content liability. In a policy statement, the White House said, “Section 230 facilitates the spread of misinformation online, which is a serious threat to our national security and electoral integrity. It should be canceled.
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Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed to this report.