Trump vetoes defense plan, risks override
Bill includes troops’ raises, $740B for military projects
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed the annual defense policy bill, following through on threats to oppose a measure that has broad bipartisan support in Congress and potentially setting up the first override vote of his presidency.
The measure guides Pentagon policy and cements decisions about troop levels, new weapons systems and military readiness, military personnel policy and other military goals. Many programs can go into effect only if the bill is approved, including military construction.
The wide-ranging bill includes 3% pay raises for U.S. troops and authorizes more than $740 billion in military programs and construction.
“My administration has taken strong actions to help keep our nation safe and support our service members,” Trump wrote in his veto notification. “I will not approve this bill, which would put the interests of the Washington, D.C., establishment over those of the American people.”
Trump’s move provoked swift condemnation, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., calling it “an act of staggering 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, didn’t criticize Trump but said the National Defense Authorization Act is “absolutely vital to our national security and our troops. … Our men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform shouldn’t be denied what they need — ever.”
“I hope all of my colleagues in Congress will join me in making sure our troops have the resources and equipment they need to defend this nation,” Inhofe added.
The House is expected to return Monday to vote on whether to override Trump’s veto. If it’s approved, then the Senate is expected to return Tuesday to begin considering the override.
Long before issuing the veto, Trump offered a series of reasons for rejecting the legislation. He has called for lawmakers to include limits on social media companies that he says are biased against him, and to strip out language that allows for the renaming of military bases that honor Confederate leaders. Without providing details, he has claimed the biggest winner from the defense bill would be China.
In his veto message, Trump cited those objections and stated that the measure “fails to include critical national security measures, includes provisions that fail to respect our veterans and our military’s history, and contradicts efforts by my Administration to put America first in our national security and foreign policy actions. It is a ‘gift’ to China and Russia.”
He also wrote that “numerous provisions of the Act directly contradict my Administration’s foreign policy, particularly my efforts to bring our troops home.”
Trump and other administration officials have complained about a restriction on withdrawing the remaining 2,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan and from shifting 12,000 service members from Germany to other countries — both Trump priorities as he has sought to end overseas wars and punish allies, notably Germany, for not spending more on their defense.
On the issue of China, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said the bill would help deter Chinese aggression. Other GOP backers of the measure, including Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the second-ranking Senate leader, and Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, have tweeted that the bill would counter threats from countries such as China.
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said Trump’s declaration that China was the biggest winner in the defense bill is false.
“President Trump clearly hasn’t read the bill, nor does he understand what’s in it,” Reed said. “There are several bipartisan provisions in here that get tougher on China than the Trump administration has ever been.”
Trump’s complaints about Section 230, a 30-year-old rule shielding online platforms from liability for statements made by users, stem from claims by him and his allies that Twitter and other social media platforms censor conservatives, which the companies deny. In his veto message, Trump cited an unspecified threat of foreign disinformation.
“Section 230 facilitates the spread of foreign disinformation online, which is a serious threat to our national security and election integrity,” Trump said. “It must be repealed.”
Inhofe noted Wednesday that there could be future opportunities for lawmakers to separately address concerns about the legal shield for social media companies.
The Republican-controlled Senate passed the bill by a vote of 84-13 Friday, after the House approved it 335-78 earlier this month — well above the two-thirds threshold needed in each chamber to override a veto and allow the bill to become law.
Trump had vetoed eight bills previously, but those vetoes were sustained because supporters did not gain the two-thirds vote needed in each chamber for the bill to become law without Trump’s signature.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., called Trump’s veto “unconscionable” and said he would “look forward to overriding” it.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said that with the veto, “More than 100,000 federal employees will be deprived of the paid parental leave benefits they deserve, necessary military construction projects will not move forward on schedule, and our service members who are in harm’s way defending our country’s principles will not have access to the hazard pay they are owed.”
“While the president may not care about our service members and their families, Congress still places an immense value on their service and sacrifice,” he said.
McConnell had urged the measure’s passage despite Trump’s threat to veto it, saying it was important for Congress to continue its nearly six-decade-long streak of passing the defense policy bill.
In the House, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has said he may support the president on the issue. But some top Republicans who worked on the bill, including Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas, said they made clear to the White House that they were prepared to override a veto.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of Trump’s closest allies, has said he would vote to sustain Trump’s veto, and he backed the president’s effort to get Congress to take action on the social media policies.
“If he wants to have a debate and vote on [social media companies], I think we should do that,” Graham said last week.
The House is expected to return Monday to vote on whether to override Trump’s veto. If it’s approved, then the Senate is expected to return Tuesday to begin considering the override.