President Trump said in a tweet that a Republican lawmaker told him he will not change the names of military bases, after a provision to rename military bases named for Confederate officials passed in Congress with a probationary majority. veto. The president said Senator Jim Inhofe, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, informed him that he will not change the names of the bases.
“I spoke to the respected Senator (President) @JimInhofe, who informed me that he will NOT change the names of our great Military Bases and Forts, places from which we won two World Wars (and more!). Like me, Jim does not believe in ‘Cancel culture,’ “Trump said in a tweet on Friday.
Both the Senate and the House approved their own versions of the National Defense Authorization Law this week, which include a provision to change the names of the bases. The language of the Senate would form a commission that has three years to determine a plan on how to deal with the change of name of the bases. The version approved in the Chamber requires name changes within a year.
Both chambers approved the NDAA reauthorization with overwhelming majorities, meaning they could override any potential veto by Trump.
Now both houses will work to reconcile the language in the two bills. Since the name change of the bases was addressed in the House and Senate bills, chances are that there is some kind of language in the final bill that addresses this problem. The bill is unlikely to pass until December this year.
If the language of the Senate survives, the commission will have until the end of December 2023 to determine how to act, which means Congress will not have to make a decision regarding the bases in the near future.
Inhofe’s position is that changing the names of the bases should be left to the local communities.
Inhofe said in an interview with The Oklahoman on Thursday that he had spoken to the president and would make sure the provision was not included in the final bill.
“We will ensure that the provision does not survive the bill,” Inhofe said. “I’m not going to say how right now.”
It is unclear how Inhofe would ensure that the provision is not included in the final bill, since the House is controlled by Democrats and may not agree to consider final legislation that does not include this measure. Senator Josh Hawley has already tried to include an amendment to the NDAA that would prevent the name change of the bases, but the amendment did not get a vote on the Senate floor.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Friday to ask Inhofe how the senator plans to avoid name changes in the legislation. McEnany also noted that a June poll by ABC News / Ipsos showed that 56% of Americans are opposed to renaming military bases, saying “the president supports the American people.”
There are ten U.S. Army facilities named after Confederate officials: Fort AP Hill in Virginia, Camp Beauregard in Louisiana, Fort Benning in Georgia, Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Gordon in Georgia, Fort Hood in Texas , Fort Lee in Virginia, Fort Pickett in Virginia, Fort Polk in Louisiana and Fort Rucker in Alabama.
Trump’s comments come amid a nationwide reckoning of statues and monuments honoring Confederate officials and conquerors. The House voted this week to requires removal of statues of Confederate Capitol officials. However, the future of the bill is uncertain in the Senate.
John Nolen contributed to this report.
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