House votes to overturn Trump’s veto on $740bn defence bill

Democrats joined by 109 Republicans who side against president

Democrats on Capitol Hill have delivered a powerful blow to Donald Trump, gathering enough votes to overturn his veto of a military spending bill, in what was the first such congressional rebuff of his presidency. 

Shortly after the House of Representatives passed a measure to increase the size of the stimulus checks from $600 to $2,000 – a move the president claimed to support but which will split his party – Democrats mustered the two-thirds majority required to overturn his earlier veto of an annual defence spending bill, worth $740bn. 

Mr Trump had vetoed the bill, which had bipartisan support, on the grounds it allowed for the renaming of military bases that honour Confederate leaders.

He also said the bill did nothing to address the spread of misinformation on the internet, something he claimed was a threat to national security, but which  critics said was an example of the president simply trying to create chaos and difficulty, after he lost the election to Joe Biden.

What was notable about Monday’s vote, was that 109 Republicans sided with Democrats to vote against the president, delivering a 322 - 87 defeat for Mr Trump.

As the House voted against him, Mr Trump was in Florida, where he spent at least part of the day on the golf course.

The bill, known as the National Defense Authorisation Act, or NDAA, contains a 3 per cent pay rise for US troops, and authorises more than $740bn in military programmes and construction.

As recently as Sunday night, he had tweeted against the measure, saying it did nothing to scrap  Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law that shields social media companies from legal liability for what third parties post to their sites. The Washington Post pointed out the president has taken “special aim at the law as part of his vendetta against Facebook, Google and Twitter”.

In his veto message, Mr Trump also said the bill restricted his ability to conduct foreign policy, “particularly my efforts to bring our troops home”. 

He was referring to provisions in the bill that impose conditions on his plan to withdraw thousands of troops from Afghanistan and Germany. The measures require the Pentagon to submit reports certifying that the proposed withdrawals would not undermine US national security.

Mr Trump's veto of the bill provoked swift condemnation, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling it “an act of staggering recklessness that harms our troops, endangers our security and undermines the will of the bipartisan Congress.”

Republican senator Jim Inhofe, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the bill “absolutely vital to our national security and our troops”.

He added: “Our men and women who volunteer to wear the uniform shouldn't be denied what they need — ever.”

Additional reporting by Associated Press