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- For the first time during Donald Trump’s tenure, the United States Congress overturned a presidential veto. After the House of Representatives, the Senate also overruled Trump’s veto against the legislative package on the US defense budget with the necessary two-thirds majority.
- The massive legislative package can now go into effect despite the absence of Trump’s signature.
- The president had opposed the bill due to a dispute over the regulation of online platforms and a possible renaming of military bases.
Now, shortly before the end of his term on January 20, he suffered a severe defeat in Congress, where a large part of his Republicans opposed him on this issue. 81 senators voted in favor of the legislative package (with 13 votes against) and successfully overturned Trump’s veto. The two-thirds majority on camera was comfortably outnumbered.
The legislative package on the defense budget comprises more than 4,500 pages and envisages a budget of around 740 billion dollars (about 653 billion Swiss francs). Because it is politically unthinkable that the military budget will not materialize, the package in the US often also includes numerous regulations that are not directly related to the financing of the armed forces. The defense budget was approved with bipartisan support for 59 years in a row, also this year.
Trump’s fight against Twitter and company was unsuccessful
Democrats and Republicans have stipulated that Trump’s planned massive withdrawal of US soldiers from Germany will be blocked for the time being. The wording of the law states that the Secretary of Defense of the United States must declare in a report to Congress whether such a withdrawal would be in the national interest of the United States. The number of US soldiers stationed in the Federal Republic may fall below the 34,500 limit at least 120 days later. In addition, the law states that threats of sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 oil pipeline in the German-Russian Baltic Sea will be expanded.
Trump had vetoed the congressional decision. To justify this, he stated in a letter to the House of Representatives that the law contradicted the foreign policy and national security of his government.
Among other things, the president criticized the fact that online platforms are not being regulated more strictly. He wanted Congress to change the law known as Section 230, which protects online platforms from being held accountable for content posted by their users. Trump called the plan “a serious threat to national security and the integrity of the elections.” Critics, in turn, accuse Trump of only wanting revenge on Twitter and Facebook. Additionally, Trump is a thorn in the side of the renaming of several military bases following protests against racism.
Eight vetoes during Trump’s term
Trump considers it unconstitutional that the withdrawal of soldiers from Afghanistan, South Korea and Germany ordered by him is now limited by law. Under the constitution, the president is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he said. The decision on how many soldiers should be deployed where is therefore yours.
During his four-year tenure, Trump had vetoed congressional legislative plans eight times.
