In a 15-page signing statement issued Monday night, President Trump revealed that he intends to ignore many of the myriad provisions of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the $716 billion military spending bill.
The signing statement singles out several provisions which Trump argues would restrict his control in ways he believes are needed for “military missions,” and inconsistent with his “constitutional authority as Commander in Chief.”
Trump suggested that he’d ignore all the limitations placed on the Yemen War, and objected to providing an assessment on war crimes to Congress, saying it violates executive privilege.
In general Trump objected to all NDAA provisions demanding more information on civilian casualties inflicted overseas, saying that he believes Congress is trying to make the military share too much information.
Among the many policy issues this impacts are a ban on recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, which Trump argues usurps his authority to state US positions in international affairs. He also objected to the ban on military cooperation with Russia.
Perhaps the biggest Russia provision, however, was the one seeking the creation of a White House post on Russian election meddling, which was to testify to Congress twice annually. Trump rejected this, arguing the executive branch needs to be able to keep secrets.
In addition, Trump rejected the idea that Congress could limit the size of a drawdown in South Korea, if he ordered one. He also objected to any limitations on moving detainees out of Guantanamo Bay, as well as a provision suggested by the Navy to stop having warships stationed abroad for longer than a decade at a time.
Trump seems to be great at pissing off everybody except the Israelis
No White House post on Israeli or Saudi election meddling.
Or US meddling in the elections of other nations.
Prez couldn’t find Israel on a map. He obeys the Word of Shelly Adelson. Congress controls war, not any one person. Revoke the ridiculous War Powers Act. M.A.D. is no longer an operative doctrine.
MAD is still an operative doctrine, regardless of what neocon and old libs say regarding Russia.
M.A.D. was about saving face after being incinerated. Retaliating on launch detection (a doctrine that was never adhered to, fortunately). Russian dictator sees us as allies in his White Christian crusade to save the Caucasians. Nobody is threatening our future existence with nuclear annihilation except for people with no fear of death who think God chose them. How farfetched is that?
MAD actually worked, because even the belligerent USA realised that nuclear war cannot be won.
Your comment on “Russian dictator” is rather weak when you see how the USA is behaving while Russia is desperately attempting cooperation and agreements to avoid war. Israel truly is the one deciding “our” policy, to nobody’s benefit.
no it didn’t. it assumes you and you enemies know what the score is when in fact both sides are speculating on what the other are up to.
For instance it was only a defector leaving the Soviet embassy in London who let Thatcher know the soviets were certain the 1983 Nato exercises were a prelude to an attack on the USSR.
Putin is as loony as Bob Pence and Jeff Sessions re: Israelistine. They need a major firestorm in The Holy Land to resurrect their sleeping messiah and reward everybody on TBN and the 700 Club. Putin won’t throw Iran under the bus, yet. But they do need an all out no holds barred battle against a devil.
Grain crop failures are promising great famine soon. Religion is for the idle rich and the starving poor, apparently.
We are extinct. M.A.D. failed.
If there’s so much wrong with the bill, why the hell doesn’t he simply veto the thing? Congress can then resubmit without the allegedly offensive parts.
Because he loves the extra $70 billion
Because that implicitly weakens Presidential powers by saying he’s at their mercy. He’s saying Congress has no authority over these things and will ignore them. (And no, this isn’t some new Trump thing to do. Presidents do this sort of thing in signing statements a lot.)
Indeed. Bush II was very good at this.
There is no authorization in the constitution for “signing statements”. Its another invention demonstrating the lawlessness of the modern american state, where a law may not be a law, depending on the whims of the president.
Great job, Jason.
Those details are all important and tell us once again that Trump continues to inch his way toward rapprochement with Russia as the neocons, MSM, Dems, GOP establishment and the fetid swamp called the Deep State seeks to stop him.
But those who have not had a new thought after they reached 18 will just say, “We don’t need no stinking details.”
There is a battle going on- and it is unclear who will win. The odds are overwhelmingly against Trump, and one would think he could not win. But then there is November 2016……
But never mind about Trump ignoring the other provisions like the limitations on the Yemen war, providing an assessment of war crimes to congress or objecting to the provisions that demanded information of civilians killed overseas. I guess you don’t need any “stinking details” either other than the ones that confirm your opinion of Trump.
We’ve gotten along pretty well without those provisions, all that is now is “hate Trump” bs.
The provisions I mentioned are about curtailing our adventures in Yemen and seeking some sort of accountability on our overseas killing/war crimes. I don’t really care what reason they were included, they’re much needed.
I agree with that because you and I have been consistent, but usually you’ll have die-hard neocons loving Republican Administration Wars and the opposite is true for Liberal interventionists. One thing unites them though, and that is the war-loving media, right and left.
So true. How nauseating was it when the leftist media fawned over Trump when threw 100 missiles at Syria on the fake chemical attack.
Where was this zeal for accountability when Obama was Prez?
Exactly.
I hope you don’t mean my zeal. My zeal doesn’t change based on what party is in the white house. Obama was horrible. So is Trump.
But you are doing quite the opposite, are you not. And opinions identical to yours are splashed across the mainstream media non-stop – to the point that they have become all too well accepted cliche.
I offer a balance here and a completion to Ron Paul’s usual compelling outlook.
I agree with criticisms of Trump for continuing the slaughter in Yemen, etc. But that is only half the story, the half that is the cliche. Let us get the whole story which tells us the obvious fact that there is a battle in the Trump administration to see whether his desire for rapprochement with Russia will succeed. I hope it does – I do not want to awaken to mushroom clouds one day.
I would have been doing the opposite if I hadn’t been commenting on your post. If I had been commenting on this article, I too would have voiced my displeasure about the Russia provisions which are asinine. But, unlike you, I would have also tore Trump a new a**hole for saying he’d ignore the others that I listed.
the only thing DC is united on his its hatred of Russia, because of the career possibilities it offers. Trumps faction (the MIC) is offering a Olive Branch to Russia much to the disgust of the rest of DC because the EU is seen as a threat now and Russia + the EU is a new Superpower that can ignore DC.
Seems like exactly the type of things a peace-monger trying to disrupt the war party would do, right Justin?
What a dictatorship looks like.
Trump has every right to recognize Crimea as part of Russia. They had a referendum that was deemed as free and fair by international observers. Maybe Russia did tip the scales a bit with various actions over the years, but nothing compared with the meddling the US has done regarding Ukraine. Events have a context. The fact this was included reveals that its supporters believe everything Russia does is automatically bad, and any tolerance of those bad actions by us is automatically evil. Such dogma.
Trump has already spoken against Crimea’s return to Russia.
His complicity in the ridiculous latest sanctions on Russia over the Skripal lies have absolutely no excuse.
People often say the POTUS does not have much power, but this one seems to be even more out of control than his predecessors, ensuring there is no hope of peaceful relations with anyone, there is no way diplomacy can be even suggested, let alone tried.
It is summed up as the good, the bad and the ugly decision.