Congress will vote on the National Defense Authorization Act on Tuesday, with both chambers expected to pass the legislation despite President Donald Trump's threat to veto it over two issues in particular, The Hill reports.
Trump has singled out two specific problems he has with the bill: It requires the Pentagon to rename military bases named after Confederates, and it does not repeal a section of the Communications Decency Act that protects websites from being liable to content posted by their users.
Trump tweeted Tuesday morning:
"I hope House Republicans will vote against the very weak National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which I will VETO. Must include a termination of Section 230 (for National Security purposes), preserve our National Monuments, & allow for 5G & troop reductions in foreign lands!"
Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee told reporters Monday he is “hoping for a strong vote tomorrow. I think the stronger the vote, the less chance of having to deal with a veto later."
He added, while he does not think Trump's veto threat is "empty," he does think "it's possible" the GOP could join with Democrats to override the president.
"All members have to bear the consequences of a 'no' vote," Thornberry said. "And one of the consequences is that military pay is going to go down, that we are going to forgo a lot of important bipartisan steps to better compete with the threat from China."
When asked if he would vote to override a veto, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told "Fox News Sunday": "We need to pay our troops. We need defense. My inclination would be to always vote for the troops and to vote for our national security, but to look for another vehicle to address the Section 230 issues that are so important to the president."
A source close to the Trump administration told The Hill, "it seems like" Congress is "prepared to override a veto."
They added, "The hope is to have a big vote [passing the NDAA] to deter Trump from issuing a veto."