President Trump and a senior Republican in the Senate are lobbying Congress to preserve the names of military bases that honor Confederate generals, despite the overwhelming approval of the bills by the House and Senate.
Trump said in a tweet on Friday that he had spoken to Oklahoma Senator James M. Inhofe, Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, “who informed me that he is NOT going to change the names of our great Military Bases and Forts, places of which we won two world wars (and more!). “
Like him, Trump said, Inhofe “does not believe in ‘Cancel culture’.”
Inhofe, a staunch conservative and close ally of Trump, is also opposed to name changes, even though he led the Senate’s approval of the defense law that would require name changes at Ft. Bragg, Feet Benning and other positions in the Army appointed by Confederate generals.
Inhofe told the Oklahoman newspaper that he spoke to Trump on Thursday about the basic names, adding: “We are going to make sure that the provision does not survive the bill.” I’m not going to say how right now. “
Defense policy bills passed by the House and Senate would change the names of 10 Army posts that honor Confederate leaders. The two versions must be reconciled, but both bills were approved by veto-proof margins this week.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Friday that the White House “would leave that to Senator Inhofe as to how that works legislatively speaking,” but said Senator Inhofe assured Trump that ” [provision] it would be changing and Republicans supporting the president in this. “
The top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee said Trump was “on the wrong side of history” in trying to defend traitors who “fought to preserve slavery.”
“No one wants to erase history,” said Senator Jack Reed (DR.I.). “We want to be sincere and honest about it and build a brighter and more inclusive future that lives up to the promise and core values of our nation.”
There are 10 Army posts named for Confederate military leaders, including Ft. Hood in Texas, Ft. Benning in Georgia, Ft. Bragg in North Carolina, and Fts. Robert E. Lee and AP Hill in Virginia. The House bill would require that basic names be changed within a year, while the Senate version would give the military three years to rename them.
Reed said Friday that he is confident that Congress will include the name change provision in the final bill, and urged Trump to “read” about men like Lee, Braxton Bragg and Henry Benning and learn “what they believed and why. they fought against the United States. ” Trump should also listen to uniformed and civilian military leaders “who know that racism has no place in the ranks,” Reed said.
If Trump vetoes a bill with a 3% pay rise for US troops, it would be a rare event, Reed said: “But even rarer is a US president who would put the interests of a handful of pro-slavery confederates above the water well”. being and national security of the entire nation. “
Forty-nine Republican senators voted in favor of the defense bill that includes changing the base’s name, while only four Republicans voted against it. Among the Democrats and the two independents who join them, 37 supported the bill and 10 opposed. The $ 741 billion measure would authorize all Defense programs worldwide.
Colorado Senator Cory Gardner, one of the Republican Party’s most vulnerable incumbents in the 2020 election, said he had no trouble renaming the bases. “If it’s something we can do to heal this country and bring people together, let’s do it,” Gardner told reporters on Friday after an event with Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, in a Denver suburb.
“Let’s learn from the past few months of division and organize the country,” said Gardner.
Gardner’s comment illustrated how Trump’s tweet had upset Republican Party allies on a high-profile issue they believed had been resolved with race and the military.
The debate over military bases comes amid a lawsuit over racism sparked by the police murder of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis. The Democratic-controlled House passed a bill to remove the statues of Lee and other Confederate Capitol leaders, and President Nancy Pelosi last month ordered the portraits of four speakers who served in the Confederacy be removed from the room. adorned just outside the House chamber. .
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican who is also seeking reelection and voted in favor of the defense bill, declined to comment on Friday. The aide directed a journalist to a statement McConnell made in the Senate praising the defense bill and his strong bipartisan support.
Senate Top Democrat New York minority leader Charles E. Schumer has challenged Trump to veto the defense bill on the names of Confederate bases. “It’s on the bill. It has bipartisan support. It will remain on the bill, ”Schumer said earlier this month.
Congress has passed the annual defense measure each year for nearly six decades. It generally enjoys veto-proof support, although various controversies often delay the final passage until the end of the year.
