U.S. media reported Tuesday (Dec. 22) that bipartisan leaders in the U.S. Senate have reached a deal to block President Trump‘s potential veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Tuesday on the Senate floor that he has reached an agreement with Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to block President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, according to the New York Post.
McConnell said an interim session will likely be held Dec. 29 after Christmas, when lawmakers will override the president’s veto.
“If President Trump does choose to veto this bipartisan-passed bill, the House may choose to schedule a vote after the (Christmas) holiday on whether to override the president’s veto …… If the president has already vetoed the bill and the House votes to override the veto, the Senate will then have the opportunity to override the president’s veto.” McConnell said.
Earlier this month, the House and Senate voted to pass the more than $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, pending the president’s signature. President Trump had said on Dec. 13 that the biggest winner of this defense bill was the Chinese Communist Party, so he would veto it.
On Dec. 17, Trump reiterated in a tweet, “I will veto the defense bill, which will upset the CCP. They love it. Must end Section 230, protect our national monuments, and allow the removal of troops from distant and very ungrateful lands.”
One of the reasons Trump opposes the new National Defense Authorization Act is that it contains Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides an umbrella for social media. The provision grants immunity to social media companies from prosecution for content that appears on their platforms or for having removed portions of it.
Trump had noted in a Dec. 1 tweet that Section 230, which provides room for large tech companies to avoid liability, “is a serious threat to our national security and the integrity of our elections. Our country will never be safe if we allow it to continue,” and therefore, “I will be forced to veto this bill unequivocally.”
In this year’s U.S. election fraud controversy, big tech companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook have continued to censor and suppress speech exposing election fraud and fraudulent votes under the protection of Section 230. In the pre-election “Hard Drivegate” scandal involving Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, social media also exercised control and blocked speech.
Recent Comments