US Congress overrides a veto from the president for the first time

  • The US House of Representatives overrode President Donald Trump’s veto of the annual defence authorisation bill by a vote of 322-87 for the first time during his tenure. 
  • The $740 billion legislation called the National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA) sets forth the policies for the Department of Defense (DoD)’s programs and activities every year. 
  • This is the first time that Congress has overridden a veto from the president.
  • A report in the Financial Times said that the legislation is a “must pass” since it pays the salaries of the American armed forces and that no lawmaker would want to be associated with efforts to block military pay and the funding of weapons.

WHY DID TRUMP VETO THE BILL?

  • Defenders of Trump’s veto on the legislation have said that the legislation fails to terminate Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) and that it is a “gift” to China and Russia.
  • Section 230 of the CDA provides immunity to online platforms and protects them from being liable for the content billions of people post on their platforms every day. 
  • Further, under this section, providers of “interactive computer services” are free from being treated as the publisher or speaker of any information posted by the users, rendering these platforms “unfettered by Federal or State regulation”.
  • Earlier this year, Trump signed an executive order aimed at removing these protections. 
  • Trump has said that it is important to repeal Section 230 or make changes to it since the current provisions undermine national security and election integrity by allowing the spread of disinformation.
  • Trump has also objected to the bill and has maintained that it contradicts his foreign policy measures such as his efforts to reduce US troops in Afghanistan, Germany and South Korea. 
  • He is also opposed to it because of the proposal that certain military bases that were named after Confederate generals be renamed.

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