Trump raises China concerns as reason to veto defense bill

President Donald Trump offered a new rationale Sunday for threatening to veto the annual defense policy bill that covers the military’s budget for equipment and pay raises for service members: China.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers say the wide-ranging defense policy bill, which the Senate sent to the president on Friday, would be tough on China.

Both the House and Senate passed the measure by margins large enough to override a potential veto from the president.

“The biggest winner of our new defense bill is China! I will veto!” Trump said in a new tweet.

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 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.

Congress has approved the bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, for nearly 60 years in a row. The current version affirms 3% pay raises for U.S. troops and authorizes more than $740 billion in military programs and construction. The measure guides Pentagon policy and cements decisions about troop levels, new weapons systems and military readines and military personnel.