Trump vows to veto $740B defense spending bill over tech dispute

President Donald Trump said Thursday he will veto a $740 billion defense spending bill that was passed by the Senate with a veto-proof majority.

Trump has said he wanted the National Defense Authorization Act to repeal Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act, which protects tech giants like Facebook and Twitter from legal liability for content posted on their platforms.

The bill passed by the Senate, however, does not include any action against Section 230.

Trump has also complained that the provision poses a threat to national security and argued that it protects Twitter for placing warning labels on his tweets.

“I will veto the Defense Bill, which will make China very unhappy,” Trump said, by tweet, on Thursday.

“They love it. Must have Section 230 termination, protect our national monuments and allow for removal of military from far away, and very unappreciative lands.”

The defense spending bill provides a 3% pay raise for U.S. troops and a plan to rename military installations that honors Confederate leaders, but nothing about Section 230.

Trump had signaled for weeks, though, that he planned to veto the legislation because it lacked a measure to strip Section 230.

“Section 230, which is a liability shielding gift from the U.S. to ‘Big Tech’ … is a serious threat to our national security and election integrity,” Trump tweeted earlier this month. “Our country can never be safe and secure if we allow it to stand.”

Senate leaders have discussed an override vote of a possible veto on Jan. 3 just before the 116th Congress ends.

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