Trump gets veto-proof defense bill he vowed to reject

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a $741 billion defense authorization bill on Friday, sending it to President Donald Trump with veto-proof majorities in both chambers of Congress and effectively daring him to make good on his threat to scuttle the legislation. The tally was 84-13.

In recent weeks, Trump has escalated his promises to veto the annual legislation, which directs funding for the Pentagon on everything from overseas operations to pay and health care for civilian and uniformed personnel.

Trump threats began over the summer, when he vowed to stymie the legislation if it included a directive to the Defense Department to rename installations commemorating Confederate figures. More recently, he has demanded that the bill repeal an unrelated law granting technology companies liability protections against content that users post to their websites.

Trump has not sounded off about his pledged veto since the House passed the defense bill on Tuesday, by a vote of 335-78, a veto-proof majority. But should he still elect to veto the bill, he could complicate lawmakers’ efforts to complete the legislation, which has been signed into law for each of the last 59 years, before it expires at the end of the congressional session on Jan. 3.

The president has 10 days, excluding Sundays, to consider whether he will sign the legislation — a clock that starts once the White House receives paperwork from Congress. In that time, he may choose to sign it into law, reject it with a veto, or simply let it fizzle.