Two-thirds of House and Senate could override his veto.
On Wednesday, President Trump issued his promised veto of the National Defense Authorization Act that was passed easily by Senate and House lawmakers earlier this month, setting up votes to override the president’s attempt to kill the legislation.
President Trump signed the 2021 NDAA veto on the last possible day, having spent months warning that he would do so if the changes he asked lawmakers to make were left out. The president cited measures in the $740.5 billion bill limiting his ability to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and Germany, beginning a process to rename bases honoring Confederate Civil War Generals, and for its lack of language killing liability protections for social media companies.
President Trump said in a statement, “Unfortunately, the Act fails to include critical international 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.” He called the bill a “gift” to China and Russia.
The House and Senate must now vote again on the bill. If two-thirds of members in both chambers approve the override, the NDAA will become law without presidential approval. Top lawmakers in both chambers indicated this week that the House would take up the measure on December 28 and the Senate would vote the following day if the House approved the override. The initial passage came with far more than two-thirds approval.
The defense legislation was the ninth bill that President Trump has vetoed. None of his prior vetoes were overturned.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For members of the House and Senate as they return to Washington to vote to override President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act.
- For Congress to consider the provision of the Communications Decency Act protecting technology companies from liability for most content published by their users.
- For President Trump as he works to address national and international security.
Sources: Stars & Stripes, Bloomberg News
