McConnell bucks Trump on defence bill, saying failure to pass would leave military in a ‘lurch’

President wants the bill to roll back legal protections for social media firms he claims are censoring conservatives

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has increased his engagement in Covid relief talks in recent weeks. (Getty Images)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is defying a veto threat by Donald Trump over his demands to repeal legal protections for social media companies in the annual defense policy bill.

Failing to pass and make the measure law would leave military personnel in a “lurch,” he said on Thursday while signaling he expects the chamber will vote to send the massive authorization bill to Mr Trump on Friday.  

“I would urge our colleagues to pass” the bill, Mr McConnell said as the president continues to threaten to veto it.

The measure passed the House on Tuesday with a veto-proof majority, meaning both chambers could be poised to override a Trump veto before Christmas.

Mr Trump wants lawmakers to include in the National Defense Authorization Bill, or NDAA, language rolling back or drastically altering legal protections that safeguard social media giants like Facebook, Twitter and others from liability based on what users post on their platforms. 

The president and other conservatives are accusing those companies of censoring conservatives, and helping President-elect Joe Biden in the campaign before last month’s election. They have yet to prove their claims, however. 

The Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Mac Thornberry, said on that chamber’s floor shortly before the measure passed on that side of the Capitol that the bill should not be nixed due to “an excuse about what’s not in it.” 

While he did not directly refer to Mr Trump by name, Mr Thornberry said: “Our troops should not be punished because [the bill] does not fix everything that needs to be fixed.”

Nebraska GOP Congressman Don Bacon spoke a few minutes later, saying he is “in agreement with the president’s concerns on Section 230 – however ... it falls outside the jurisdiction of this vote ... and deserves its own bill.”

"Do you think you'll get a better bill in two months?" he asked "The answer is no."

But Mr Trump will be a civilian by then, and it is unclear whether he views his allegations against the social media firms as the kind of issue he can use once out of office to continue raising monies from his supporters and help kick-start a possible 2024 White House bid.