The House voted overwhelmingly to pass a critical defense bill that President Trump has threatened to veto because it lacks new language that would punish social media firms.
The 335-78 vote provided enough support for the National Defense Authorization Act to override Trump’s promised veto.
But Republicans who voted for the bill Tuesday signaled they may vote to uphold Trump’s expected rejection, among them House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican and close Trump ally. McCarthy voted in favor of the bill Tuesday but said he will not vote to override a veto from Trump.
The defense measure now heads for the Senate, where lawmakers are expected to pass it this week.
Trump has repeatedly pledged to veto the bill because lawmakers declined his request to include a provision to strip out lawsuit liability protection for Big Tech.
Trump and many Republicans believe Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides the broad lawsuit protections to sites such as Twitter and Facebook, needs reform or complete elimination due to the actions of those social media platforms and others to censure or block conservatives on their sites.
Trump said Tuesday he would veto the bill over the Section 230 language and other provisions he said are missing from the bill.
“I hope House Republicans will vote against the very weak National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which I will VETO,” Trump tweeted. “Must include a termination of Section 230 (for National Security purposes), preserve our National Monuments, & allow for 5G & troop reductions in foreign lands!”
Republican leaders say they agree with the president about reforming Section 230 but said the effort to change the law should not be entangled with the annual defense policy bill, which the military relies on for critical planning.
Members of the House Freedom Caucus announced Tuesday they would vote to oppose the bill over the missing Big Tech language and for other reasons, including a lack of a pay increase for members of the military, which they want included in the legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said he backs the defense bill and will take up a veto override vote on the Senate floor, but only after the House successfully overrides it, which is not a certainty.
Dozens of Democrats joined the members of the Freedom Caucus and voted against the measure Tuesday.
If McCarthy and many more Republicans vote along with this group, it could be difficult for the House to come up with the roughly 286 votes needed to push the bill into law over Trump’s veto.
Forty Republicans and 37 Democrats voted against the bill Tuesday.
“It is my hope that the President signs the FY21 NDAA into law given how important passage is for our service members and their families,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat, said Tuesday. “However I remain confident that Congress will exercise our authority to override a potential veto should he choose to put his ego first.”
