The US House of Representatives on Monday voted overwhelmingly to override US President Donald Trump’s veto of a defense policy bill, setting the stage for what would be the first veto override of his presidency, as well as increase COVID-19 relief checks to US$2,000, meeting President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger payments and sending both bills to the Senate.
House members voted 322-87 to override the veto, well above the two-thirds needed to override.
The Senate, which is expected to vote on the override this week, also needs to approve it by a two-thirds majority.
Photo: AFP
Trump rejected the defense bill last week, saying it failed to limit social media companies he claims were biased against him during his failed reelection campaign. He also opposes language that allows for the renaming of military bases that honor Confederate leaders.
The defense bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), affirms 3 percent pay raises for US troops and authorizes more than US$740 billion in military programs and construction.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said after the NDAA vote that the House had done its part to ensure the act becomes law “despite the president’s dangerous sabotage efforts.”
Senator Jim Inhofe, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the bill “absolutely vital to our national security and our troops,” adding: “Our men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform shouldn’t be denied what they need — ever.”
The bipartisan vote on the widely popular defense bill showed the limits of Trump’s influence in the final weeks before he leaves office, and came minutes after 130 House Republicans voted against a Trump-supported plan to increase COVID-19 relief checks to US$2,000.
The House approved the larger payments by a vote of 275-134, but the plan faces an uncertain future in the Senate, another sign of Trump’s fading hold over Congress.
Trump has offered a series of rationales for rejecting the defense bill. He urged lawmakers to impose limits on Twitter and other social media companies he claimed are biased against him, as well as to strip out language that allows for the renaming of military bases such as Fort Benning and Fort Hood that honor Confederate leaders.
Trump also claimed without evidence that the biggest winner from the defense bill would be China.
The veto override was supported by 212 Democrats, 109 Republicans and an independent. Twenty Democrats opposed the override, along with 66 Republicans and an independent.
The Senate approved the bill 84-13 earlier this month, well above the margin needed to override a presidential veto.
However, the vote on the relief checks faces a more uncertain future in the Senate.
The House vote on the checks deeply divided Republicans, who mostly resist more spending, but many Republicans joined in support, preferring to link with Democrats rather than buck Trump.
Pelosi said that “Republicans have a choice: Vote for this legislation or vote to deny the American people” the assistance she said they need during the pandemic.
Democrats plan to push Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to allow a floor vote on the legislation. They have threatened to tie up Senate floor procedures until he does.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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