While the House continues to add amendments to their $733 billion
military spending bill, aimed at limiting the administration from making
unilateral foreign policy moves, the White House is now “strongly
objecting” to it.
White House officials issued a statement warning that if the House version was what was submitted to them for the military spending bill, President Trump would veto it. That would be a serious challenge to Congress exercising limits on the foreign policy.
In particular, the House bill forbids transfers of new detainees to
Guantanamo Bay, and provides no funding for tactical nuclear weapons.
The White House objects to both, but can Trump just veto around it?
That’s less clear. While Trump has vetoed other legislation on foreign
policy, a spending bill still needs to ultimately be passed, and this
would be a battle of who blinks first, or if Congress can override a
veto outright.
White House Threatens to Veto $733 Billion Military Spending Bill
Officials unhappy with lack of funding for tactical nukes, limits on Gitmo
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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