Trump vetoes military spending act

Members of the House will have to report back to work the Monday after Christmas for a planned vote to override the president’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act. President Donald Trump blocked the bill on Wednesday because it did not include a measure he requested to strip social media companies of liability protections. He also said the law failed to “respect our veterans and our military’s history”—likely a reference to plans to rename military bases that honor Confederate leaders—and would undermine his foreign policy.

Will the veto stand? The act passed in both the chambers of Congress with veto-proof majorities, and the Senate is scheduled to vote to pass it one day after next week’s House vote. The legislation will also give U.S. troops 3 percent pay raises and authorize more than $740 billion in military programs and construction.

Dig deeper: Read Harvest Prude’s report in The Stew for more background on the reasons Trump vetoed the bill.