WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed the annual defense policy bill, following threats to veto a measure that has broad bipartisan support in Congress and may establish the first general vote in the U.S. his presidency.
The bill claims a 3% pay rise for U.S. troops and authorizes more than $ 740 billion in military and construction programs.
The action came as Trump was entering the White House, learning about his election loss and escalating his confrontation with Republicans as he pushed fraudulent conspiracy theories and tried to pressure them to support his efforts to overturn. the results.
The House was ready to return on Monday and the Senate on Tuesday to consider votes to overturn the president’s veto on the National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA.
The Trump movement provoked a quick condemnation, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling it “reckless recklessness that harms our troops, endangers our security and undermines the will of the bipartisan Congress.”
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, avoided any criticism of Trump, but called the NDAA “absolutely vital to our national security and our troops. our men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform should not be denied what they never need. ”
Long before issuing the veto, Trump offered a number of reasons for rejecting it. He has called on lawmakers to include limits on social media companies that he says have tendencies against him, and to remove language that would change the name of military bases like Fort Benning and Fort Hood that honor Confederate leaders. Without going into details, he has stated that the biggest winner of the defense bill would be China.
In his veto message in the House, Trump cited these objections and stated that the measure “does not include critical national security measures, includes provisions that do not respect the history of our veterans and our military, and contradicts the efforts of the my Administration to put America first our national security and foreign policy actions. It is a “gift” for China and Russia. “
He also wrote: “Numerous provisions of the law directly contradict the foreign policy of my administration, especially my efforts to bring our troops home.
Both the House and Senate approved the measure by a margin large enough to overturn the president’s veto. Trump had vetoed eight bills previously, but those vetoes were maintained because supporters did not get the two-thirds of the votes needed in each chamber for the bill to become law without Trump’s signature.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va, described Trump’s veto as “unconscious” and said he “would hope to overturn it.”
Prior to the veto, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, said the bill would help deter Chinese aggression. Other sponsors of the measure, including Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, second Senate leader and Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, tweeted that the bill would counter the threats from countries. such as China.
Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said Trump’s statement that China was the top winner of the defense bill was false. Reed also noted the mutant explanations Trump had given for the veto.
“Clearly, President Trump has not read the bill or understood what it is,” Reed said. “There are several bipartisan provisions here that are tougher on China than the Trump Administration has ever been.”
The measure guides Pentagon policy and cements decisions on troop levels, new weapons systems and military readiness, military personnel policy, and other military objectives. Many programs can only come into force if the bill is passed, including military construction.
McConnell, in a rare breakup with Trump, had urged the move despite Trump’s threat to veto it. McConnell said it was important for Congress to continue its streak of nearly six decades of passing the defense policy bill.