U.S. NEWS
DECEMBER 2, 2020 2:18 PM UPDATED 37 MINUTES AGO

Republican U.S. lawmakers may defy Trump over defense bill veto threat

By Patricia Zengerle
2 MIN READ

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee and some other Republican lawmakers pushed back on Wednesday against President Donald Trump’s threat to veto a massive defense bill unless it eliminates a federal law protecting tech companies.

“First of all 230 has nothing to do with the military. And I agree with his sentiments. We ought to do away with 230 but you can’t do it in this bill. That’s not a part of the bill,” Senator Jim Inhofe told reporters at the U.S. Senate.

Trump said on Twitter on Tuesday he would veto the annual National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a $740 billion annual bill setting policy for the Pentagon, if it does not include a measure eliminating a federal law - known as Section 230 - protecting tech companies such as Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc.

The NDAA has been passed annually since 1961, a rare major bill seen as a “must-pass” because it governs everything from pay raises for the troops to how many aircraft should be purchased to how best to compete with Russia and China.

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