Trump Makes Good on Threat, Vetoes Defense Policy Bill

President Trump vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday, following through on weeks of threats. Congress is set to vote on an override, will they have the votes?

Summary

Following through on his threat, President Trump vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act over provisions that were and were not included in the bill.

• Trump, who the day before complained about non-COVID related items in a funding bill that included coronavirus relief, signed his NDAA veto because it lacked an unrelated repeal of liability protections for online platforms like social media.
• The NDAA sets defense budgets and priorities, and this year includes a 3% pay raise for servicemen and women.
• The President said the bill is a “gift to China and Russia”, saying it “fails to respect our veterans and our military’s history, and contradicts efforts by my Administration to put America first.”
• Trump also objected to a provision that would require re-naming military installations named after Confederate soldiers.
• This could be the first veto override of Trump’s presidency, with the House set to vote on Monday December 28^th and the Senate following the next day if the House is successful.
• CBS News noted the opposition to President Trump’s veto was bipartisan.

• Vox dedicated its analysis to attempting to debunk Trump’s claims and leaning heavily on congressional opposition to the veto.
• Esquire used the veto as an example of the President’s rage in the final days of his presidency, while foolishly connecting the veto to what the writer believes is institutional racism ingrained in America since 1619.
• CNN opened its reporting by characterizing the President’s veto as a “loyalty test” for Republican lawmakers.

• Tristan Justice argues at The Federalist that whether Trump is correct on the merits of his arguments regarding NDAA and the coronavirus relief bill, it is “on brand” as an anti-establishment figure fighting “on behalf of the working American.”
• FoxNews.com published an op-ed from James Carafano of The Heritage Foundation criticizing the President, saying Trump’s desire to repeal the protections for social media companies is the correct position, but that the NDAA is not the venue for such a change.
• The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board writes that Trump’s recent moves are at odds with the efforts to keep the two Georgia Senate seats, up for election in a January runoff, in GOP hands.

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© Dallas Gerber, 2020