For the first time in his presidency, the United States Congress on Friday voted overwhelmingly to override Donald Trump’s veto of a defence spending bill, reported Reuters. Trump is in the final days of his presidency after losing the November elections to Democrat Joe Biden.
The Republican-controlled Senate held a rare New Year’s Day session to debate the move, which had already been voted for by the House of Representatives. The Senate voted 81-13 for the National Defense Authorization Act, which determines everything from how many ships are bought to soldiers’ pay and how to address geopolitical threats.
The Senate also ended for a push by Democrats to increase Covid-19 financial relief checks from $600 to $2,000, a change also sought by Trump.
Bills passed by the US Congress need to be signed into law by the president of the country. On rare occasions, a president may choose to veto, or reject, the legislation because they disagree over the policies. But lawmakers can override the presidential veto and enact bills into law by mustering two-thirds of votes in both chambers of Congress.
Eight previous Trump vetoes had been upheld.
Why was Trump opposing the defence bill?
Trump had refused to sign the defence bill into law, saying the act was a “gift to China and Russia”, according to BBC. “Unfortunately, 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,” he had said in a statement.
The president opposed the bill also because it included a provision to remove the names of confederate leaders from military bases. Among the bases that would require a name change is the largest US Army base, Fort Bragg in North Carolina, named after Confederate General Braxton Bragg.
Confederates were the senior military leaders during the American Civil War. The push to have their names stripped from US bases gained momentum after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last May, triggering months of protests over racial injustice.
He also wanted the bill to repeal a liability shield for social media companies.
Besides, the bill limits Trump’s ability to immediately withdraw all remaining US troops from Afghanistan. The measure requires Trump to submit a “comprehensive, interagency assessment of the risks and impacts before using funds to draw down U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan below 4,000 or current levels and again before drawing down below 2,000,” a summary of the law stated.
After the vote, Trump tweeted about the Senate’s refusal to take up his call for more Covid-19 relief aid and to lift legal protections for social media platforms.
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