Congress defies Trump on defense bill

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File

For the first time since Donald Trump became president, Congress has overridden one of his vetoes. In a special New Year's Day session, the Senate voted 81-13 to override Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The House voted to override the veto on Monday.

What will the law do? The $740 billion law funds the military and authorizes a 3 percent raise for U.S. troops. President Trump wanted the law to repeal special legal protections for social media platforms. He also objected to provisions in the law that will change the names of military bases that honor Confederate leaders. On Twitter, Trump called the Senate vote pathetic.

Dig deeper: Read Kent Covington’s report in The Sift about the House’s NDAA vote on Monday.

Timothy Lamer

Tim is executive editor of WORLD Commentary. He previously worked for the Media Research Center in Alexandria, Va. His work has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Weekly Standard.