President Trump expressed expectations that a provision to rename military bases named in honor of Confederate leaders will not make the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act, despite overwhelming approval by the House and Senate. defense legislation this week with veto-proof majorities.
Trump, who previously threatened to veto legislation to rename such bases, tweeted on Friday that he found an ally in Senator Jim Inhofe, who serves as chairman of the Armed Services Committee that administers the bill.
Senate passes defense bill with provision to change names of trusted bases
“I spoke to respected Senator (President) Jim Inhofe, who informed me that he will NOT change the names of our great military bases and fortresses, places from which we won two world wars (and more!” Trump tweeted). . “Like me, Jim doesn’t believe in ‘Cancel Culture.'”
However, it does not depend solely on Inhofe, R-Okla., What the final version of the bill looks like.
DRAFT TRUMP THREAT DEFENSE VETO ON THE PROVISION TO ELIMINATE CONFEDERATED BASE NAMES
On Thursday, the Senate overwhelmingly passed the National Defense Authorization Law by a vote of 86-14 that included the Confederation’s name change provisions. Earlier this week, the House passed its own version of the defense bill, also by a veto-proof margin of 295-125, which would also compel the military to remove Confederate leaders from base names. like Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Hood in Texas.
Both houses of Congress must now draft a unified version of the bill and pass it again, which probably won’t happen until the fall. To do so, the House and Senate will form a conference committee to resolve the differences in their two bills. Inhofe is expected to be a member of that joint committee.
SCHUMER: TRUMP NO VETO DEFENSE BILL ON RENAMING MILITARY BASES
Inhofe said in an interview with The Oklahoman that he spoke to Trump on Thursday and predicted the removal of the provision requiring the name change of the 10 military bases named in honor of the Confederate generals.
“We will ensure that the provision does not survive the bill,” Inhofe told the newspaper. “I’m not going to say how right now.”
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A spokeswoman for Inhofe declined to give details on Friday, saying Trump’s tweet “speaks for itself.”
In his re-election bid, Trump has come out in defense of controversial statues and monuments, many of them honoring Confederate leaders, who have come under new scrutiny in the wake of the death of George Floyd and protests worldwide. that demand racial justice. Confederate statues and monuments have been removed from several dozen cities in recent years, including recently in Virginia.
“President Trump has been clear in his opposition to politically motivated attempts like this to rewrite history and displace the enduring legacy of the American Revolution with a new leftist cultural revolution,” the White House said in its veto of the threat of Chamber legislation. , according to The Associated Press.
Fox News’ Andrew O’Reilly and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
