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WASHINGTON (REUTERS) – President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans in the United States Senate on Friday (January 1) overruled his veto for the first time in his nearly four years in office, pushing forward a defense policy bill. against his strong objections days before leaving office. .
Gathered in a rare New Year’s Day session, the Senate voted 81-13 to secure the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto with bipartisan support.
Eight previous vetoes were maintained.
Friday’s session, widely seen as the last before a new Congress is sworn in on Sunday, also appeared to end for now the push by Democrats to increase Covid-19 relief checks from $ 600 to $ 2,000 requested by Trump.
Sen. Bernie Sanders again joined the Democrats in an attempt to force a vote on higher payouts, only to be blocked by Republicans.
Republican lawmakers have been largely supportive of the president during his turbulent tenure in the White House.
However, since losing his re-election bid in November, Trump has criticized them for failing to fully endorse his baseless claims of voter fraud, rejecting his demand for larger Covid-19 relief checks, and overriding his veto.
The vote in the Republican-led Senate followed a similar override in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Monday.
A president has the power to veto a bill passed by Congress, but lawmakers can defend the bill if two-thirds of both houses vote to override the veto.
The US $ 740 billion (S $ 980 billion) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) determines everything from how many ships are purchased, to paying soldiers, and how to address geopolitical threats.
Trump refused to make it law because he did not repeal certain legal protections for social media platforms and included a provision that removes the names of Confederate generals from military bases.
“We have passed this legislation 59 years in a row. And one way or another, we will complete the 60th annual NDAA and sign it into law before this Congress concludes on Sunday, ”Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said before the vote.
Seven Republicans joined five Democrats and Sanders, an independent who is part of the Democrats, in opposing the override.
The vote could have implications for two US Senate runoff elections in Georgia on Tuesday that will decide control of the chamber under President-elect Joe Biden, who will take office on January 20.
Senators facing a runoff, Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, strongly back both Trump and the military.
But neither Perdue nor Loeffler voted on Friday. Neither did another staunch Trump ally, Sen. Lindsey Graham. Perdue went into quarantine this week after having contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19.
Spokesmen for Loeffler and Graham did not respond to requests for comment.
Trump, who returned to Washington on Thursday from his private club in Florida, has increased the pressure on his fellow Republicans and has criticized party leaders for failing to comply with his orders on the defense and relief measures of Covid-19 and for not joining more fully in their fight to overturn the election results.
As votes were being counted indicating that Trump had lost the battle over the bill, the president took to Twitter to promote a planned protest rally in Washington on Wednesday, the day the new Congress officially counts the votes of the new Congress. Electoral College certifying the presidential victory of Democrat Joe Biden.
Some Trump allies in Congress have said they plan to object on Trump’s behalf, including Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who expects as many as 140 House Republicans to join. The objections are expected to be rejected by the vast majority of lawmakers.
“This is my only chance in this process to stand up and be heard,” Hawley told reporters Friday. “And speak on behalf of my constituents.”
But Hawley acknowledged that he is still undecided about how many state election results will be the target of his objections: “I haven’t worked out the mechanisms, correct.”
Republican Senator Ben Sasse criticized the move as an effort by ambitious politicians to tap into Trump’s populist base, saying in a statement on Facebook Wednesday: “Adults do not point a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government.”
Later on Friday, Trump tweeted about the Senate’s refusal to accept his request for more emergency assistance from Covid-19 and to lift legal protections for social media platforms.
“Our Republican Senate just missed the opportunity to ditch Section 230, which gives unlimited power to big tech companies. Pathetic!!! Now they want to give the people devastated by the virus of China $ 600, instead of the $ 2000 they so desperately need. It’s not fair or smart! ” he wrote.
Until the annulment, with less than three weeks left in office, Trump had been on track to be the first president since Lyndon Johnson with no vetoes overturned, according to the US Presidency Project at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
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