Trump humiliated by defence policy Bill veto’s reversal
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has suffered a stinging rebuke in the US Senate as fellow Republicans joined Democrats to override a presidential veto for the first time in his tenure, pushing through a defence policy Bill he opposed.
The $US740 billion ($NZ1.03 trillion) National Defence Authorisation Act determines everything from how many ships are bought to soldiers’ pay and how to address geopolitical threats.
Trump refused to sign it into law because it did not repeal certain legal protections for social media platforms and included a provision stripping Confederate generals’ names from military bases.
Meeting in a rare New Year’s Day session, senators voted 8113 to secure the twothirds majority needed to override the veto. Eight previous Trump vetoes had been upheld.
The Senate ended for now a push by Democrats to increase Covid19 financial relief cheques from $US600 to $US2000, a change sought by Trump.
In another setback, a judge rejected a lawsuit by a Texas lawmaker and other Republicans against Vicepresident Mike Pence seeking to overturn Democratic Presidentelect Joe Biden’s win. Pence will preside this week over a session of Congress to formalise the results of the election.—