Flying in the face of lame duck president Donald Trump’s threats of a veto, the House of Representatives passed the $741 billion defense authorization bill with a 335 to 78 majority, the Washington Post reports.
Trump has threatened to block the bill because it contains provisions to remove the names of Confederate leaders from military bases and equipment. Trump, a supporter of Confederate history who has never served in the military, believes the Confederacy–a secessionist movement–should be honored by the US military that defeated it.
Trump’s threat to veto the bill will jeopardize ongoing military projects as well as raises and compensation needed for the military to retain highly specialized personnel.
Trump also wants to include an unrelated repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act which provides protections for technology companies for information posted by users.