Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell walks off of the Senate floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, December 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Congress is ending a chaotic session, a two-year political firestorm that started with the longest federal government shutdown in US history, was riven by impeachment and a pandemic, and now closes with a rare rebuff by Republicans of President Donald Trump.
In the few days remaining, GOP senators are ignoring Trump s demand to increase COVID-19 aid cheques to $2,000 and are poised to override his veto of a major defense bill, asserting traditional Republican spending and security priorities in defiance of a president who has marched the party in a different direction.
Susan Walsh/AP
toggle caption Susan Walsh/AP
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., at the Capitol on Wednesday. The Senate voted Friday to override President Trump s veto on the annual defense bill. Susan Walsh/AP
The Senate voted Friday to overturn President Trump s veto of the mammoth annual defense bill in an unprecedented act that assures the decades-long continuity for that legislation. It follows a House vote earlier this week.
The Senate vote, 81-13, came after an unusual political detour for the National Defense Authorization Act, which establishes policy and handles myriad other issues for the military services. The popularity of the military, together with the scale of the bill, means it passes virtually every year and has for decades until this one hit a snag.
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In rare Jan. 1 session, Congress overrides Donald Trump’s veto of defense bill
Updated Jan 01, 2021;
Posted Jan 01, 2021
FILE - In this Dec. 31, 2020, file photo President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)AP
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WASHINGTON Congress has overridden President Donald Trump’s veto of a defense policy bill, a first by lawmakers since he took office nearly four years ago.
In an extraordinary New Year’s Day session, the Republican-controlled Senate easily turned aside the veto, dismissing Trump’s objections to the $740 billion bill and handing him a stinging rebuke just weeks before his term ends.