Tuesday, 29 December 2020_The US House of Representatives has rejected Donald Trump’s veto of a defense bill, dealing a blow to the president as it set the stage for the Senate to deliver the first veto override of his presidency.
The Democratic-controlled House voted 322 to 87 to override Trump's veto of the $740.5 billion bill, with 109 members of the US president's party siding with Democrats.
The bill’s fate is now in the hands of the Republican-led Senate, where it will also have to gain two-thirds support to override the president's veto. A final vote is expected this week.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes funding for military projects and a pay rise for troops, was passed this month by both chambers of Congress. The House voted 335 to 78 and the Senate voted 84 to 13.
But the NDAA was vetoed by Trump because he wanted it to overturn liability protections for social media companies unrelated to national security.
Trump also opposed a provision that would strip several US military bases of the names of generals who fought for the secessionist, pro-slavery South in the 1861-65 Civil War.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi welcomed what she described as “an overwhelming bipartisan” vote to override Trump’s veto and predicted the legislation would become law despite the president’s “dangerous sabotage efforts.”
“The president must end his eleventh-hour campaign of chaos and stop using his final moments in office to obstruct bipartisan and bicameral action to protect our military and defend our security,” Pelosi said in a statement.
House Majority Leader Democrat Steny Hoyer told reporters that Trump’s veto had been “stupid” and “small-minded.”
Representative Mac Thornberry, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, urged Republicans ahead of the vote not to side with the president.
House approves $2,000 coronavirus aid checks
The Democratic-led House of Representatives voted 275-134 to meet Trump’s demand for $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks on Monday.
The 275 votes for passage meant the stimulus proposal narrowly exceeded the two-thirds of votes cast needed.
The motion is likely to meet with resistance from Republicans in the Senate as Republican lawmakers have complained that the higher amount would add hundreds of billions of dollars to the latest relief bill.
Trump finally signed the $2.3 trillion package into law on Sunday after holding it up with a veiled veto threat. But he continued demanding $2,000 checks.
The $2.3 trillion includes $1.4 trillion in spending to fund government agencies and $892 billion in COVID-19 relief.
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