President threatens to veto $1T defense bill
Measure sent to Trump holds billions for state’s military contractors
President Donald Trump has threatened to veto a nearly $1 trillion defense spending bill, with billions of dollars for fighter jet engines, submarines and helicopters made in Connecticut, in a fight he picked with Congress demanding the repeal of legal protections for tech companies.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Joe Courtney, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, denounced Trump for the last-minute threat. A House-Senate committee is wrapping up the National Defense Authorization Act that will be voted on by Congress and sent to Trump for his signature or veto.
“Even if it’s the most popular, sympathetic issue, to air drop it in the last second for an item that’s completely non-germane to the bill just shouldn’t happen,” Courtney said.
“This veto threat is deeply dangerous and just plain stupid,” Blumenthal said. “Although it may ultimately be an unserious sideshow, jeopardizing critical national security funding with half-baked bluster is ridiculous and reckless.”
In a pair of tweets Tuesday evening, Trump threatened to veto the bill if it does not include repealing legal immunity for tech companies with a provision known as Section 230. He criticized it as a shield for social media companies he believes are biased against him.
“If the very dangerous & unfair Section 230 is not completely terminated as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), I will be forced to
unequivocally VETO the Bill when sent to the very beautiful Resolute desk,” the president tweeted.
Rep. Adam Smith, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, assailed Trump on Twitter.
“You’re willing to veto the defense bill over something that has everything to do with your ego, and nothing to do with defense,” the Washington state Democrat said.
Trump found no support from the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee.
Presidents and congresses of both political parties “have come together” over 59 years to enact the National Defense Authorization Act, said Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas.
“Disagreements on all other issues have been put aside. This year should be no different,” hesaid.
Trump criticized tech and social media companies that flag his unsubstantiated posts that the presidential election was riddled with fraud. His claims have been rejected in numerous state courts.
He had previously threatened to veto the defense bill, insisting that military bases honoring Confederate military officers not be renamed. The Democratic-run House, which sought to rename bases in a year, ultimately agreed with the Republican Senate majority to a deal establishing a commission proposing new names in three years, Courtney said.
The president has tangled before with some in Congress over military spending. The budget he presented in February dropped funding for a second Virginia-class submarine made by General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton and Rhode Island, forcing its backers to fight to restore funding in the budget now under a veto threat.
Pratt & Whitney, the East Hartford-based jet engine subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies Corp., makes engines for the F-35 fighter jet and Sikorsky, a Stratford-based subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corp., manufactures the Black Hawk helicopter. The three conglomerates rely on an extensive supply chain of smaller manufacturers.