Rebuking Trump, Republican-led Senate overrides defense bill veto

By David Morgan and Susan Heavey

 

U.S. President Donald Trump ignores shouted questions from reporters as he walks towards the White House from Marine One with first lady Melania Trump after returning from Mar-A-Lago on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, U.S., December 31, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate on Friday overrode his veto for the first time in his nearly four years in office, pushing through a defense policy bill against his strong objections weeks before he leaves office.

 

Meeting in a rare New Year's Day session, the Senate voted 81-13 to secure the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto with bipartisan support. Eight previous vetoes were upheld.

 

The Friday session, widely seen as the last before a new Congress is sworn in on Sunday, also appeared to end for now a push by Democrats to increase COVID-19 relief checks from $600 to $2,000 sought by Trump. Senator Bernie Sanders again joined Democrats in a bid to force a vote on higher payments, only to be blocked by Republicans.

 

Republican lawmakers have largely stood by the president during his turbulent White House term.

 

Since losing his re-election bid in November, however, Trump has lashed out at them for not fully backing his unsupported claims of voter fraud, for rejecting his demand for bigger COVID-19 relief checks, and for moving to override his veto.

 

The vote in the Republican-led Senate followed a similar override vote in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives on Monday. A president has the power to veto a bill passed by Congress, but lawmakers can uphold the bill if two-thirds of both houses vote to override the veto.

 

The $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) determines everything from how many ships are bought to soldiers' pay and how to address geopolitical threats.

 

Trump refused to sign it into law because it did not repeal certain legal protections for social media platforms and included a provision stripping the names of Confederate generals from military bases.

 

"We’ve 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 Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said ahead of the vote.

 

Seven Republicans joined five Democrats and Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, in opposing the override.

 

The vote could have implications for two U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia on Tuesday that will decide control of the chamber under President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office on Jan. 20. The senators facing a runoff, Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, strongly back both Trump and the military.

 

But neither Perdue nor Loeffler voted on Friday. Neither did another staunch Trump ally, Senator Lindsey Graham. Perdue entered quarantine this week after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. Spokesmen for Loeffler and Graham did not respond to requests seeking comment.

 

Trump, who returned to Washington on Thursday from his private club in Florida, has ramped up pressure on fellow Republicans and slammed party leadership for failing to do his bidding on the defense and COVID-19 relief measures and for not more fully joining his fight to overturn the election results.

 

As votes were being counted indicating Trump had lost the battle over the bill, the president took to Twitter to tout a protest rally being planned in Washington on Wednesday, the day the new Congress officially tallies the Electoral College votes certifying Democrat Joe Biden's presidential victory.

 

Some Trump allies in Congress have said they plan to object on Trump's behalf, including Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri who expects to be joined by as many as 140 House Republicans. The objections are expected to be dismissed by the vast majority of lawmakers.

 

"This is my one opportunity of this process to stand and be heard," Hawley told reporters on Friday. "And to speak up on behalf of my constituents."

 

But Hawley acknowledged that he is still undecided about how many state election results will be the targets of his objections: "I haven't worked out the mechanisms, correct."

 

Republican Senator Ben Sasse blasted the move as an effort by ambitious politicians to tap into Trump's populist base, saying in a statement on Facebook on Wednesday: "Adults don't point a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government."

 

Later on Friday, Trump tweeted about the Senate's refusal to take up his call for more COVID-19 relief aid and to lift legal protections for social media platforms.

 

"Our Republican Senate just missed the opportunity to get rid of Section 230, which gives unlimited power to Big Tech companies. Pathetic!!! Now they want to give people ravaged by the China Virus $600, rather than the $2000 which they so desperately need. Not fair, or smart!" he wrote.

 

Until the override, with fewer than three weeks remaining in office, Trump had been on track to be the first president since Lyndon Johnson with no vetoes overridden, according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California Santa Barbara.

 

(Reporting by David Morgan in Washington; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Matthew Lewis and Howard Goller)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2021-01-02

 

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Love the fact that the people who rose up to get Trump out will be the same ones upset they are getting 33% less money than the person they voted out wanted to give them. 

Edited January 1, 20215 yr by RichardColeman

27 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Love the fact that the people who rose up to get Trump out will be the same ones upset they are getting 33% less money than the person they voted out wanted to give them. 

It was the repubs that didnt want 2000. The dems wanted it.

Could this be a sign that rational thought and the collective idea of civic duty to represent the voters who elected them, has taken over from fear of retribution from a bullying autocrat?

How many top military have resigned under him and how many Pentagon and staff, not mention firing of Defence Secretaries.

 

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

Love the fact that the people who rose up to get Trump out will be the same ones upset they are getting 33% less money than the person they voted out wanted to give them. 

And how will that happen?  Please tell.

He's gotta be <deleted>.  It will be interesting to see how he spins this loss.  Probably by just bashing all who oppose him, again.

 

Another lie from Trump?

 

https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/trump-we-re-going-to-win-so-much-you-re-going-to-be-so-sick/article_2f346f38-37e7-5711-ae07-d1fd000f4c38.html

 

Quote

Trump: 'We’re going to win so much, you’re going to be so sick and tired of winning'

 

Never mind Donald, while the ship sinks around you, I'm sure Ivanka and young Don Jr still love you!

16 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

Another lie from Trump?

Did his lips move?

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

Love the fact that the people who rose up to get Trump out will be the same ones upset they are getting 33% less money than the person they voted out wanted to give them. 

Old Donald could have spoke up months ago you know as well as most folks he was pandering to the rubes it was nothing but a teaser and btw it was Mitch McConnell who killed it not the dems as far as the veto Great the republicans should have stood up to this (insert cuss word here) long ago 

18 more days.

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Love the fact that the people who rose up to get Trump out will be the same ones upset they are getting 33% less money than the person they voted out wanted to give them. 

Wow, so mind-numbingly detached from reality (although your math needs some work).  When Biden is inaugurated, you can still pretend Trump is President.  Your ability to embrace an alternate reality is that impressive. 

The timing of this ‘rebuke’ is rather unfortunate for Trump, it’s s reminder he can’t rely on the GOP. Four days from now he’ll get another reminder when the GOP, and importantly Pence will not prevent Biden’s win being certified.

 

Trump will enter the last two weeks of his term in office not trusting anyone, and it’s in that frame of mind he has to make a decision.

 

Can he trust Pence to give him a pardon if he resigns the presidency, or is he going to pardon himself?

 

I hope the latter, it’s far more open to legal challenge.

 

There was of course the ‘cut a no prosecution deal in exchange for resignation’ but that ship sailed on Election Day.

They'll need every penny of that now, to defend themselves against the Twitter war that's about to follow from the Oval Office...

Now that Trump has been exposed as the loser he truly is, some have felt emboldened enough to defy their political master. As he leaves office, I predict he will quickly become more and more irrelevant, unlike what the media is predicting. Nobody likes a loser, after all. 

And the losing continues. Trump appointed judge throws out gohmert suit.

 

https://news.yahoo.com/lack-standing-rep-gohmerts-lawsuit-013906785.html

5 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Love the fact that the people who rose up to get Trump out will be the same ones upset they are getting 33% less money than the person they voted out wanted to give them. 

Only those who do not use critical thinking ...

A truly delicious meltdown. Can't wait to see the traitor leaving the White House!

 

45 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Now that Trump has been exposed as the loser he truly is, some have felt emboldened enough to defy their political master. As he leaves office, I predict he will quickly become more and more irrelevant, unlike what the media is predicting. Nobody likes a loser, after all. 

Even within the Republicans, poll indicate that Joe Biden is starting to peel off the approval rating away from Trump. Latest Gallup shown a 6 points increase for Joe at the expense of Trump. 

Do some of those GOP politicians finally grow a spine? Amazing! But far too late.

6 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The senators facing a runoff, Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, strongly back both Trump and the military.

 

But neither Perdue nor Loeffler voted on Friday.

Cowards. 

6 hours ago, rooster59 said:

 

"Our Republican Senate just missed the opportunity to get rid of Section 230, which gives unlimited power to Big Tech companies. Pathetic!!!

You had 4 years to do this trump. 

22 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

You had 4 years to do this trump. 

He tried to be cosy to the big techs in his early presidential stage, encouraging them to call him directly and he will “ help you folks” to “trade across borders”. When big techs started to be honest and decent and he realized that his quid pro quo didn’t work, he turned on them. So typical Trump. 

IMO many Republicans are realizing Trump will only lead them to more and bigger electoral disasters in the next four years, but only if they allow him to.

They could not win with him, even having the voting gerrymanders in place in many states which disenfranchised minority groups. Even less chance once the Democrats start overturning the same frigging in the rigging.

They need to rebuild, and know it's impossible with Trump still there. As Paul Keating once said, you can't polish a turd. Or to use another of his expressions, a souffle never rises twice.

From the OP:

 

"The senators facing a runoff, Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, strongly back both Trump and the military."

 

And here is trump's reward:

 

Trump Trouble For The GOP: President Declares Georgia Senate Races 'Illegal And Invalid'

 

"President Donald Trump declared the Senate runoff elections in Georgia both “illegal and invalid,” which could well dissuade his followers from heading to the polls in the critical races.

The results of the Jan. 5 vote will determine which party controls the Senate. More than 3 million Georgia voters — including those in heavily Democratic areas and African-American voters — have already voted during the state’s early voting period."

 

He just can't help himself, it's all about him. He really doesn't give a rat's @rse if he causes the GOP to lose the Senate as he got crushed in the election and just needs to rant and rave like the dimwitted 8 year old bully boy he mentally is. Well done donald, keep it up!

6 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Love the fact that the people who rose up to get Trump out will be the same ones upset they are getting 33% less money than the person they voted out wanted to give them. 

I don't think so. Trump broke off negotiations back in early October over stimulus payments, the $2000  is just another disruptive tactic from him. My guess is if it went through both Houses, he would turn around and veto it for some BS reason.

If you really believe Trump is sincere, and would follow through, there's a bridge in Sydney Harbor I'd like to sell you.

Trump is not a loser, far from it, just because you do not like the man does not mean he has not done a good job, sorry GREAT job, we needed him for another four years, instead we have a bumbling puppet who will make America poor and China richer, stronger.  History will show the Media and Tech sold out a great nation and will push it towards a third world status like its fraudulent election system of 2020.  I would love a leader that looks after it people and keep his promises! Goodbye America 

17 minutes ago, Rivertiger said:

Trump is not a loser, far from it, just because you do not like the man does not mean he has not done a good job, sorry GREAT job, we needed him for another four years, instead we have a bumbling puppet who will make America poor and China richer, stronger.  History will show the Media and Tech sold out a great nation and will push it towards a third world status like its fraudulent election system of 2020.  I would love a leader that looks after it people and keep his promises! Goodbye America 

Trump lost the elect, he is by definition a loser.

So the military are getting their hundreds of billions so they can buy new toys to play with, but Joe Schmoe can suck it and starve to death? 

53 minutes ago, Rivertiger said:

Trump is not a loser, far from it, just because you do not like the man does not mean he has not done a good job, sorry GREAT job, we needed him for another four years, instead we have a bumbling puppet who will make America poor and China richer, stronger.  History will show the Media and Tech sold out a great nation and will push it towards a third world status like its fraudulent election system of 2020.  I would love a leader that looks after it people and keep his promises! Goodbye America 

Another Trump supporter living in an alternative reality. Believing alternate facts.

1 hour ago, Rivertiger said:

Trump is not a loser, far from it, just because you do not like the man does not mean he has not done a good job, sorry GREAT job, we needed him for another four years, instead we have a bumbling puppet who will make America poor and China richer, stronger.  History will show the Media and Tech sold out a great nation and will push it towards a third world status like its fraudulent election system of 2020.  I would love a leader that looks after it people and keep his promises! Goodbye America 

 

now i'm getting confeved!

 

joe gets 7 million more votes than don.

joe gets 74 more electoral votes than don.

joe will be living in the white house for the next 4 years.

joe won't be in court (or prison!) anytime soon.

joe don't owe half a billion dollars coming due this year.

joe ain't lost 59 court cases.

 

that's donald winning?  bigly?

 

 

Edited January 2, 20215 yr by ChouDoufu
joe dinna get 8 million more votes.