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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell parted ways with Donald Trump over the President’s threat to veto the annual defense spending bill if it includes a provision to rename military bases named for Confederate figureheads.
“Well, I hope the president doesn’t really veto the bill on this issue. … I hope the president reconsiders vetoing the entire defense bill, which includes salary increases for our troops, on a provision that could lead to name changes, “McConnell said in an interview on Fox News on Wednesday.
The president had indicated in a tweet earlier that day that he would veto the $ 740 billion bill if it includes an amendment by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren to rename some US military bases.
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“I will veto the Defense Authorization Bill if the Elizabeth ‘Pocahontas’ Warren Amendment (of all people!), Which will lead to the name change (plus other bad things!) From Fort Bragg, Fort Robert E. Lee and many other military personnel The bases from which we won two world wars are in the bill! Trump tweeted.
The Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously agreed this week to add a provision to the bill to “remove all names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia that honor or commemorate the Confederate States of America … or anyone who served voluntarily with the Confederate States of America of all assets of the Department of Defense “within three years of its enactment.
Several Republican senators have tabled an amendment to remove language forcing the Defense Department to purge itself of confederacy and Confederate nomenclature, but the measure is unlikely to reach the Senate floor for a vote.
Negotiators on the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) have mainly played bipartisan chords so far, and Senate leaders expressed confidence that they can reach an agreement with House Democrats at a conference between the two houses. .
The Senate is also fixing wrinkles in a bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday on par with Martin Luther King Jr Day, Memorial Day, and other days of United States historical and cultural significance.
Juneteenth, celebrated annually on June 19, is a holiday for the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.
Senate Republicans are obsessed with going ahead with a bipartisan bill by Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Ed Markey of Massachusetts or whether they should have another federal holiday, namely Columbus Day, to balance the calendar, The hill has reported
“I’m just saying we’re going to replace it with something. I chose Columbus Day just because it is probably the most celebrated and least disruptive of anyone’s schedule, “said Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, according to The hill.
Johnson is “happy to celebrate emancipation with a national holiday,” he said.
“But I don’t think we should, when we are already opening a hole in the budget right now, offering another paid day off for federal employees,” he said.
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