That’s all very well, but where does the Senate stand? As I understand it, unless the Senate passes the same bill and also has a veto-proof majority, nothing the House passed matters.
The US House of Representatives approved the Pentagon budget bill Tuesday by an overwhelming majority, defying US President Donald Trump...His ancestors didn't own any slaves...
’s threat to veto the measure.
The bill must now go to the Senate, where it is likely also to be approved,
...also with a veto-proof majority?
before it reaches the outgoing Republican leader.The defense budget bill received 335 of 430 votes, far exceeding the two-thirds "super majority" needed to override a presidential veto.
That’s nice.
Only 40 out of 196 Republicans voted against the bill.Which lawmakers, precisely?
It remains to be seen whether all Republicans will maintain their stance to counter a possible Trump veto.After months of bipartisan negotiations, the 2021 budget is set at $740.5 billion and includes a three percent increase in defense personnel salaries.
In July, separate versions of the bill won more than two-thirds support in both chambers. The date for the Republican-controlled Senate has not been set yet.
Oh. Then the question of passing it is — at this point, at least — moot. Perhaps Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is waiting to see who won the presidential election.
Trump emphasized his opposition to the bill earlier Tuesday."I hope House Republicans will vote against the very weak National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which I will VETO," Trump, who leaves office January 20, tweeted using the formal name of the legislation.
Trump has several complaints about the bill.
It does not call, as he wants, for the abolition of a law known as Section 230, which grants social media firms protection from liability for third-party content carried on their platforms. Trump has railed against the law repeatedly and says giants like Facebook and Google are biased against him.
Trump is also displeased with the bill because it calls for renaming US military bases that honor Confederates from the pro-slavery South from the US Civil War.
The bill also goes against Trump’s drive to slash the US troop presence in Germany. It imposes on the Pentagon a deadline of at least 120 days before any reduction of forces in Germany, ensuring that no American withdrawal can take place before Democratic President-elect Joe
Foreign Policy Whiz KidBiden
...Candidate for president in 2020. When the stock market crashed, Franklin Roosevelt got on the television and didn't just talk about the princes of greed. He said, 'Look, here's what happened.'...
takes office.
The bill states that a military withdrawal from Germany "during a time of growing threats in Europa
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
would constitute a grave strategic mistake that would undermine United States national security interests and weaken NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
Trump mentioned all these issues in his tweet Tuesday, as well as the topic of "5G."