Washington:
President Donald Trump lashed out at congressional Republicans a day after the House easily voted to override his veto of a defence policy bill. A total of 109 Republicans, including Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, a member of GOP leadership, joined with Democrats on Monday to approve the override, which would be the first of Trumps presidency. The Senate is expected to consider the measure later this week.
Trump on Tuesday slammed GOP lawmakers on Twitter, charging that “Weak and tired Republican leadership will allow the bad Defence Bill to pass.? Trump called the override vote a “disgraceful act of cowardice and total submission by weak people to Big Tech. Negotiate a better Bill, or get better leaders, NOW! Senate should not approve NDAA until fixed!!!? The 322-87 vote in the House sends the override effort to the Senate, where the exact timing of a vote is uncertain. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants a vote as soon as Wednesday, but Vermont Sen Bernie Sanders objected to moving ahead until McConnell allows a vote on a Trump-backed plan to increase COVID-19 relief payments to USD 2,000. “Let me be clear: If Sen. McConnell doesnt agree to an up or down vote to provide the working people of our country a $2,000 direct payment, Congress will not be going home for New Years Eve,” said Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. ”Lets do our job.” McConnell said Tuesday that approval of the USD 740 billion National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, is crucial to the nation’s defence and to ”deter great-power rivals like China and Russia.” The bill “will cement our advantage on the seas, on land, in the air, in cyberspace and in space,” McConnell said. The bill also provides a 3% pay raise for U.S. troops, improvements for military housing, child care and more, McConnell said.
