The Senate on Friday overturned President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, the $ 740 billion defense policy bill. This veto, in the last days of Trump’s presidency, marked the first time that Congress voted to annul it.
The final vote count was 81 to 13, with a two-thirds vote needed to overturn the veto. The bill had already passed the Senate from 84 to 13 earlier this month, and the House has already voted to overturn Trump’s veto.
Mr. Trump tweeted after the vote that Senate Republicans “missed a great opportunity to get rid of Section 230”, one of the parts of the bill he opposed. Mr. Trump wanted to revoke the social media liability shield, but several members of Congress, including some Republicans, argued that the repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was not relevant to national security.
Mr. Trump also vetoed the NDAA because of a provision on the renaming of bases in honor of Confederate officials.
Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell tied a vote on repealing Section 230 to a bill that would increase direct payments to Americans from $ 600 to $ 2,000. McConnell has repeatedly expressed his opposition to the increase in direct payments, which is supported by Trump and some Republicans, and thus linked him to the repeal of Section 230, knowing that adding a controversial element would prevent his approval.
Mr. Trump vetoed nine bills during his presidency, but none were overturned. If successful, this will be the first time that one of your vetoes will be lifted. The NDAA is a critical defense bill that has passed every year for decades, so voiding the veto will not necessarily be a controversial vote for Republicans.
Congressional Republicans are still in tune with the president, with some refusing to acknowledge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Several House Republicans and at least one senator, Republican Senator Josh Hawley, are expected to contest the election results when Congress meets to count the votes of the Electoral College on January 6.
Some Republicans criticized their colleagues for being willing to undermine the electoral process and challenge a properly elected president.
“Let’s make it clear what’s going on here: we have a lot of ambitious politicians who think there is a quick way to exploit the president’s populist base without doing any real long-term damage,” wrote Republican Senator Ben Sasse in a post on Facebook on Thursday. “But they are wrong – and this problem is bigger than anyone’s personal ambitions. Adults don’t point a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government.”