President Donald Trump vetoed the annual military spending bill on Wednesday because it would have given the authority to rename military bases named for Confederate generals and did not provide protection for tech companies.
Mr. Trump has threatened to veto the bill for weeks and it sets up a showdown with fellow Republicans in Congress, who must decide if they want to go against his decision. The National Defense Authorization Act easily passed both chambers of Congress by a large margin and leaves some Republicans with the dilemma if they want to go against the President after being loyal to him.
“Unfortunately,” Trump wrote in his veto message to Congress, “the Act fails to include critical national security measures, includes provisions that fail to respect our veterans and our military’s history, and contradicts efforts by my Administration to put America first in our national security and foreign policy actions. It is a ‘gift’ to China and Russia.”
The bill also has provisions to limit how much money Mr. Trump can use for his still incomplete border wall, something he has long promised would be done by the time his first term is complete.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Trump’s veto as “an act of staggering recklessness.”
“In a time when our country was just targeted with a massive cyberattack, it is particularly hard to understand the reasoning behind the President’s irresponsibility,” she said in a statement.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and a staunch supporter of the President, said he supports Mr. Trump on his push to remove Section 230.
“I support President @realDonaldTrump’s insistence Section 230 repeal be part of the defense authorization bill,” he tweeted.
The National Defense Authorization Act provides pay raises for America’s soldiers and provides funding for military operations and continue operations.
