The White House is expected to announce that President Trump intends to veto the upcoming National Defense Authorization Act if it includes an amendment to rename the military bases that are currently named after the Confederate leaders.
This echoes past threats from the president, who has openly opposed renaming sites with long histories like Fort Bragg, which honors Confederate General Braxton Bragg.
TRUMP THREATENS DEFENSE VETO INVOICE ON AMENDMENT RENAME BASES THAT HONOR CONFEDERATION
“I don’t care what the military says. Yes, I’m supposed to make the decision,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Chris Wallace that aired on Sunday. “Fort Bragg is a big problem. We won two world wars, nobody knows General Bragg. We won two world wars. Go to that community where Fort Bragg is, in a great state, I love that state, go to the community, say how He likes the idea of renaming Fort Bragg, and then how are we going to name him? Are we going to name him by the Reverend Al Sharpton?
Lawmakers from both parties have expressed skepticism as to whether Trump would comply with such a threat, given that the NDAA plans salary increases for members of the armed services.
“Let me predict that President Trump will not veto a bill that contains wage increases for our troops and crucial support for our military,” Senate Minority Leader Chuch Schumer, DN.Y., said in the Senate to earlier this month.
During Sunday’s interview, Trump said service members “will get their pay raise.”
SCHUMER: TRUMP NO VETO DEFENSE BILL ON RENAMING MILITARY BASES
Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman was also confident that the president would sign.
“The President has made his position incredibly clear on this. And from the department’s perspective, we are confident that the administration and Congress will come to an agreement,” said Hoffman. “They understand the importance of the NDAA. We are confident that there will be an agreement and the NDAA will be signed and implemented in time so that we can have a budget for the forces.”
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The NDAA is not likely to hit the president’s desk until November, after the elections, as the House and Senate, which have their own versions of the bill, have yet to come up with a single, unified version.
Fox News’ John Roberts, Chad Pergram and Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
