The United States Congress passed the bill with more than two-thirds of the “supermajority” needed to override a presidential veto
Washington:
The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a broad defense budget bill on Friday with a veto-proof majority, defying President Donald Trump, who has threatened to block the legislation within six weeks of leaving office.
Now that both houses have passed the measure by sizable majorities, lawmakers from both parties have collectively threw down the gauntlet at the outgoing Republican leader and signaled that he would face a reversal if he takes steps to veto the bill.
The $ 740.5 billion measure has earned Trump’s ire in part because it does not repeal a law that gives social media companies liability protection for third-party content on their platforms.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the law, known as Section 230, and says giants like Facebook and Google are biased against it.
He has also voiced his disapproval of the language of the bill calling for renaming of the US military bases honoring the pro-slavery Confederate commanders of the South in the Civil War.
Both houses passed legislation well beyond the two-thirds “supermajority” needed to override a presidential veto: 84-13 in the Senate and a 335-78 vote Tuesday in the House.
“This is great news for our troops and the security of our nation,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe said in a statement regarding the bill’s passage.
“I hope it becomes law before the end of the year.”
It remains to be seen if all Republicans will stick with their stance to counter Trump’s expected veto.
The National Defense Authorization Act targeting Trump also runs counter to his push to reduce the presence of American troops in Germany and elsewhere.
It gives the Pentagon a deadline of at least 120 days before any reduction of forces in Germany, ensuring that no American withdrawal can take place before Democratic President-elect Joe Biden takes office on January 20.
Republican Senator Rand Paul had threatened to delay a vote on the NDAA because he wanted to remove language that limits Trump’s ability to withdraw or reduce troops from abroad.
Finally he relented and abandoned his opposition.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
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