U. S. Senate Out-votes Trump Veto of $741B Defense Bill

The Senate voted to override U.S. President Donald Trump’s rejection of $741 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law, the first time ever Congress has managed to do it.

The Senate vote of 81-to-13 was in favor of the NDAA which allocates funds for the military for the next fiscal year. The bill includes substantive changes in troops deployments overseas, a 3% pay increase for service members, as well as renaming military bases that honor Confederate leaders within the next three years.

It passed the Senate and House earlier this month with broad bipartisan support (335-78 House vote), easily surpassing the two-thirds majority needed in both chambers to override a presidential veto.

Trump vetoed the bill on December 23, citing “threat to national security” as the reason for his disapproval. He insisted on rejecting the bill also because it includes no provision to repeal Section 230, which effectively gives tech giants like Alphabet and Facebook a shield against liability for the actions and words of private citizens on their platforms. "Unfortunately, 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 had said in a statement. "It is a 'gift' to China and Russia."

"We passed this legislation 59 years in a row, and one way or another we're going to complete the 60th annual NDAA and pass it into law before this Congress concludes on Sunday,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Friday afternoon, supporting the Senate vote.