Trump vetoes defense bill, but Congress appears poised to override him – By Leo Shane III and Joe Gould (Military Times) / Dec 23 2020
President Donald Trump vetoed the annual defense authorization bill on Wednesday after a delay of more than a week, saying the the massive policy measure is a “gift” to China and Russia and fails to include several provisions he sees as necessary for national defense.
“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,” Trump wrote in a message to Congress announcing the veto.
“I will not approve this bill, which would put the interests of the Washington, D.C. establishment over those of the American people.”
The move for now sidelines the 4,500-plus-page authorization bill, which authorizes $740.5 billion in spending and is needed to renew a broad array military specialty pays, start new equipment purchases and launch new programs at the Pentagon. Lawmakers have characterized it as “must-have” legislation, and warned that if it doesn’t become law, troops and families would see a host of cascading negative effects like lost bonuses and cancelled support services.
