The Senate voted to override President Donald Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2021.
The upper house on Friday afternoon passed the bill without the president’s signature with an 80–13 vote—the first time a Trump veto has been overridden. The debate over the bill was ended earlier in the day with the same result.
Thirteen senators voted to sustain Trump’s veto of the bill, including Republicans Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and John Kennedy (R-La.).
Across the aisle, supporters were Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
The House voted late Monday to override Trump’s veto with a 322–87 vote.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) indicated early in the week that his chamber would vote to override Trump’s veto. He urged the Senate Republicans to pass the bill breaking away from the president.
He said he’s unhappy with the bill also because it requires the renaming of historic military installations, restricts the president’s ability to use military construction funds for national emergency use, and contradicts his efforts to bring the U.S. troops back from overseas.
“For all of these reasons, I cannot support this bill,” Trump said in a statement on Dec. 23.
The president emphasized that despite his veto, he’s a strong supporter of the military.
“No one has worked harder, or approved more money for the military, than I have—over $2 trillion,” he wrote in his statement. “During my 4 years, with the support of many others, we have almost entirely rebuilt the United States military, which was totally depleted when I took office.”
“My Administration has taken strong actions to help keep our Nation safe and support our service members,” he added.
