Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) admitted Sunday morning that she openly refused to give a direct response when pressed to reveal whether she had voted to override President Donald Trump’s veto of the latest National Defense Authorization Act.
Last Friday, the Senate overwhelmingly voted 81 to 13 to override the president’s veto of the annual defense bill, with most Republicans joining Democrats in what became the first of Trump’s vetoes to be canceled.
The president refused to sign the NDAA because it contained provisions to remove names from named bases for Confederate generals and did not include the repeal of Section 230, a law that provides immunity to social media companies to post third-party content.
Loeffler, along with Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue, did not participate in Friday’s vote, citing his campaign activities in the Senate’s run-off elections. During his interview in Fox News Sunday, guest host Bret Baier repeatedly pressured the conservative lawmaker to give his position on the bill – only for Loeffler to refuse to give a direct answer.
“A lot of people look at this race and think that President Trump may have put you and Senator Perdue in a box when he threatened not to sign the COVID stimulus and government funding and then signed it,” noted Baier. “So after that, demanding or asking for additional direct payments, which you then supported, and then vetoing the national defense bill, which you originally supported and voted for. Why didn’t you vote to overturn the veto on Friday in the Senate? “
Loeffler, who followed the president closely during the election, replied that he “stayed with the president 100 percent of the time” before praising Trump who ran for the military. She also pointed out that she has been campaigning recently, prompting Baier to back down.
“Understanding that campaigning is important and you are saying how important this election is on January 5, but obviously Georgia is a great state of defense, current and ex-military here, defense business here,” he added. “How would you have voted if you had voted to cancel the veto?”
Again, Loeffler avoided the question, simply saying that he supported the NDAA initially, before reiterating that she was in the Georgia campaign. At the same time, the senator accused Democrats of altering the original bill, saying she did not know what she would have voted for.
She also attacked her Democratic opponent, Rev. Raphael Warnock, misrepresenting a sermon he gave about not serving two gentlemen, falsely claiming that he “attacked” the military.
“But would you have upheld the NDAA veto?” Baier pressed again.
“Look, what is at stake here is our military and our freedoms,” Loeffler spun again. “That’s what’s on the ballot now. And I’m a veteran’s daughter and granddaughter … But if we don’t win on Jan. 5, our military will be extinct and worse.”
“I will not insist on that, but it is not a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ whether you would uphold the veto or not,” sighed the Fox News anchorman.
“That’s right,” smiled an embarrassed Loeffler.