Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Thursday called on senators to vote for a defense policy bill President Trump has pledged to veto.
McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said the measure is essential for the military to function in the coming year. A vote is expected for later on Thursday.
Trump said he will veto the bill unless lawmakers add language to strip lawsuit protections enjoyed by social media giants who censor him and other conservatives on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media platforms.
An overwhelming and bipartisan vote in the Senate would send a strong signal to Trump that Congress can come up with the two-thirds vote in each chamber to override his veto, which would be a first in his administration.
The House and Senate met this month to craft a compromise measure between the two chambers. The House passed the measure on Tuesday by a vote of 335-78. “On Tuesday, the House passed the conference report with overwhelming bipartisan support,” McConnell said Thursday. “Now, it’s the Senate’s turn to make it an unbroken, 60-year streak of passing this legislation to keep our military strong and our homeland safe.”
The “no” votes in the House included 40 GOP lawmakers belonging to the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who have also pledged to uphold the president’s veto. Dozens of more Republican lawmakers would have to vote along with the Freedom Caucus to uphold Trump’s effort to block the measure from becoming law. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican and close Trump ally, is among those who voted for the defense bill this week but plans to side with a presidential veto.
But many other GOP lawmakers will not side with Trump. Republicans say they agree with Trump’s opposition to the lawsuit shield for Big Tech but believe it should be eliminated or reformed in separate legislation and not in the critical defense bill, which the military relies upon for critical planning and access to funds.
“It does not contain every policy that either side would like to pass, but a huge number of crucial policies are included, and a lot of bad ideas were kept out,” McConnell said Thursday. “So, I would encourage all of our colleagues to vote to advance this must-pass bill.”
