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Senate overwhelmingly passes defense bill despite Trump veto threat

11 December 2020
Dan Ackermann

The Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by an 84-13 vote on Friday, defying President Trump's threat to veto the bill if it does not repeal liability protections for social media companies.

Why it matters: Both the House and Senate have now passed the bill by a veto-proof two-thirds majority, though it's unclear if the same number of lawmakers that voted to pass the bill would vote to overturn a Trump veto. Overriding Trump's veto would serve as a rare Republican rebuke to the president in his last weeks in office.

  • The NDAA, which this year authorizes a $740 million budget for essential defense spending, will now head to Trump's desk. It has been passed by Congress every year since 1967.
  • The bill includes provisions that would grant a pay raise for troops, allow paid parental leave for federal employees and boost anti-discrimination protections for federal employees.

The big picture: Trump's threatened veto is centered around Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects social media from being liable for content created by its users.

  • The president in May signed an executive order seeking to limit the powers of Section 230, but he does not possess the unilateral authority to regulate tech and social media companies.
  • Trump has also expressed opposition to the 2020 NDAA for its proposal to rename 10 military installations that are named after Confederate leaders.

What they're saying: In a statement ahead of the House's vote this week, the White House said the bill "fails to include critical national security measures, includes provisions that fail to respect our veterans and our military’s history, and contradicts efforts by this administration to put America first."

Go deeper: Top GOP senator loudly sets Trump straight on defense bill

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.