Trump slammed GOP lawmakers on Twitter, charging that “Weak and tired Republican ‘leadership’ will allow the bad Defense Bill to pass.″Trump called the override vote a “disgraceful act of cowardice and total submission by weak people to Big Tech. !″The 322-87 vote in the House sends the override effort to the Senate, where the exact timing of a vote is uncertain. The House veto override was supported by 212 Democrats, 109 Republicans and an independent. Reed called the Dec. 23 veto “Trump’s parting gift to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and a lump of coal for our troops. The defense bill guides Pentagon policy and cements decisions about troop levels, new weapons systems and military readiness, personnel policy and other military goals.

It follows Trump's bid to sabotage the package with an earlier veto threat over Confederate base names. If he does veto the defense bill, Congress could cut short its Christmas recess to hold override votes, senior House members said. And I think he will get substantial pressure, advice (from Republicans) that, you know, you don’t want to put the defense bill at risk.'' The defense bill is typically a widely bipartisan measure, one of the few areas of common ground. Some Democrats, including Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, agree the Section 230 provision could be revisited, even as they disagree with Trump’s tactic of attaching it to the defense bill.

It follows Trump's bid to sabotage the package with an earlier veto threat over Confederate base names. If he does veto the defense bill, Congress could cut short its Christmas recess to hold override votes, senior House members said. And I think he will get substantial pressure, advice (from Republicans) that, you know, you don’t want to put the defense bill at risk.'' The defense bill is typically a widely bipartisan measure, one of the few areas of common ground. Some Democrats, including Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, agree the Section 230 provision could be revisited, even as they disagree with Trump’s tactic of attaching it to the defense bill.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany speaks during a briefing at the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020, in Washington. But interjecting the complicated tech issue threatens to upend the massive defense bill, which Congress takes pride in having passed unfailingly for half a century. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said at briefing Wednesday that the president is serious about vetoing the defense bill unless Congress repeals Section 230. Some Democrats, including Schumer, agree the Section 230 provision could be revisited, even as they disagree with Trump’s tactic of attaching it to the defense bill. But he also said he doesn’t believe Trump will veto the must-pass defense bill.

Republicans are vowing they will not send the broader bill to Trump if it includes language requiring bases named after Confederate officers to be renamed. “It's Senate language that we want to agree to," said House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash. “So there shouldn't be controversy here." “Look, the defense bill is really important," Smith said, expressing hope that Republicans would relent. Both the House and Senate defense measures passed by veto-proof margins but GOP leaders want to avoid the chances of a veto coming to pass. The Associated Press erroneously reported that failure to pass the legislation could hold up a pay raise for the military.

Republican state Sen. Stephanie Bice earned a reputation as a political moderate in her two terms in the Oklahoma Senate. ___11:20 p.m. TuesdayRepublican Maria Elvira Salazar has defeated Democrat Donna Shalala for a House seat in Florida. ___10:25 p.m. TuesdayRepublican Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez has won a House seat in Florida, defeating freshman Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell. Republican Ronny Jackson has won a House seat in West Texas, where he moved after leaving the White House in 2018. The solidly Republican district is currently held by Mac Thornberry, one of six GOP congressmen in Texas retiring this year.

During his election campaign four years ago, Trump vowed to bring all troops home from endless wars." But their approaches differ, and the outcome of the Nov. 3 election will have long-term consequences not only for U.S. troops, but for the wider region. “We’re getting out of the endless wars,” Trump told White House reporters recently. With an eye toward the election, Trump has accelerated his push to bring troops home. “Everybody wants to be able to bring troops home from Afghanistan and elsewhere.

On Friday, the House passed a $259 billion funding bill for foreign aid and the Interior, Agriculture, and Veterans Affairs departments along party lines. The measure is the first annual spending measure to pass either the House or Senate this year, but it has scant chance of becoming law, serving instead as a springboard for negotiations down the line. And if Trump loses the election, Democrats are likely to wait until the Biden administration is in place before wrapping up the annual bills, which fund the annual operations of federal Cabinet agencies. The Senate Appropriations panel canceled plans for drafting its 12 annual bills after Democrats served notice they would offer amendments on COVID relief and policing reform that Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., deemed too politically troublesome. As a result, Congress is likely to return to Washington in September to handle a stopgap funding bill that would last until December to prevent a campaign season government shutdown.

AUSTIN, Texas President Donald Trumps former White House physician and onetime pick to head the Department of Veterans Affairs won the Republican nomination for a U.S. House seat in Texas in an election that unfolded amid an alarming spread of the coronavirus. Ronny Jackson, a retired Navy rear admiral, defeated agriculture advocate Josh Winegarner in a primary runoff Tuesday in the deeply red Texas Panhandle. Jackson will face Gus Trujillo, who won Tuesday's Democratic nomination for the 13th congressional district in Texas, in the November general election. He returned to the White House medical office, retired from the Navy in 2019 and launched his bid for Congress. He earned a marine biology degree from Texas A&M before graduating from the University of Texas Medical Branch in 1995.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and a small group of other House Democrats met with White House officials as Trump downplayed the allegations. One official said the administration discussed several potential responses, but the White House has yet to authorize any. Intelligence officials told the AP that the White House first became aware of alleged Russian bounties in early 2019 a year earlier than had been previously reported. Bolton declined to comment on that matter, and the White House did not respond to questions. The intelligence officials and others with knowledge of the matter insisted on anonymity to discuss the highly sensitive matter.

WASHINGTON Eight Republican lawmakers attended a White House briefing about explosive allegations that Russia secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American troops in Afghanistan intelligence the White House insisted the president himself had not been fully read in on. Still, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany insisted Trump had not been briefed on the findings because they hadn't been verified. One official said the administration discussed several potential responses, but the White House has yet to authorize any step. Bolton declined to comment, and the White House did not respond to questions on the matter. The intelligence officials and others with knowledge of the matter insisted on anonymity to discuss the highly sensitive matter.

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump said Monday he is ordering a major reduction in U.S. troop strength in Germany, a move widely criticized by members of his own party as a gift to Russia and a threat to U.S. national security. The U.S. currently has about 34,500 troops in Germany far fewer than during the Cold War, when Germany was the central focus of American and NATO efforts to deter invasion by the former Soviet Union. Trump faulted Germany for failing to pay enough for its own defense, calling the long-time NATO ally delinquent." In his White House remarks to reporters, Trump suggested his troop withdrawal decision was intended to punish Germany, noting that the presence of American troops is a boost to local economies. The decision was not discussed in advance with Germany or other NATO members, and Congress was not officially informed prompting a letter from 22 Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee urging a rethink.

Thornberry, the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, has served in Congress since he was first elected in 1994. Texas's 13th congressional district is considered a safe Republican seat: In 2018, Thornberry won reelection by nearly 65 points. Thornberry joins more than a dozen other House Republicans who have opted to leave the chamber in the past several months. "House Republicans should allow Chairs of Committees to remain for longer than 6 years. House leaders have been resistant to that idea, saying the limits provide younger members with opportunities to lead.