Trump still intends to veto defense spending authorization bill, White House

President Trump still intends to veto the annual defense spending bill that Congress recently passed, over several objections including one on social media content, the White House said Wednesday.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany confirmed Wednesday that Trump still intends to veto the $740 billion National Defense Authorization Act, repeating what she told reports Tuesday in a White House briefing.

Congress passed  the measure last week with veto-proof vote totals. However, those numbers must hold up if Trump indeed vetoes the measure and members must override the veto. 

Trump wants the bill to include the repeal of part of a federal communications law, known as Section 230, that protects social media companies from liabilities for content posted by third parties.

“He wants to make every effort to protect our military men and women and will prioritize military funding and the big omnibus bill,” McEnany said Tuesday. “But he also has other important priorities and, I should say, problems with the NDAA beyond just the absence of Section 230 repeal.

The president also does not like two provisions in the measure – one renaming military bases that honor Confederate soldiers and another that slows down the withdrawal of troop levels in Afghanistan.