By Aaron Miller-
The Senate on Friday has joined the House to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a sweeping military policy bill, delivering the first such blow to Trump just weeks before he leaves office.
The Senate then adjourned later in the day Friday, effectively killing the effort to increase stimulus check payments to $2,000, a demand Trump had made after signing a coronavirus relief bill that included $600 payments.
The Senate voted 81 to 13 to approve the $741 billion National Defense Authorization Act, achieving the two-thirds majority required to defeat the veto. The House overrode the veto on Monday by a vote of 322-87. As a result, the legislation will become law.
Trump vetoed the measure on Dec. 23 after lawmakers refused to include his request to add a provision repealing an internet liability law known as Section 230 that protects social media companies. The previous eight vetoes issued by Trump had been allowed to stand.
Among the lawmakers who voted against the override were Republicans Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Josh Hawley of Missouri and Democrats Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., was a no vote as well.
Kamala Harris, the vice president-elect and Democratic senator from California, also supported the override.
Republicans Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who’d dodged questions about how they’d vote on the issue, were not present. Perdue is quarantining after a member of his campaign team tested positive for the coronavirus and Loeffler was campaigning in Georgia ahead of next week’s runoff election, which will determine party control of the Senate.
Sen. Doug Jones, a Democrat from Alabama who’s being considered as Joe Biden’s nominee for Attorney General, also missed the vote. He’s been quarantining since his wife tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this week.
Trump criticized “Our Republican Senate” on Twitter after the vote, calling their refusal to add a Section 230 provision “Pathetic!!!”
The vote came after attempts by Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Sanders and Hawley to force a vote on Trump’s call for $2,000 checks to Americans were rejected. Trump called Republicans’ failure to approve the checks, “Not fair, or smart!”
The process of overriding the veto took days in the Senate after Sanders led an objection to a speedy vote unless Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., would allow a vote on the CASH Act to raise stimulus payments to $2,000.