President’s objections to NDAA provisions put him outside political mainstream and run counter to what many GOP lawmakers think

President Donald Trump has leveled veto threats at both the House and Senate versions of the annual Pentagon policy measure, a bill loaded with so many politically popular provisions, such as a military pay raise, that it has been enacted for 59 continuous years.

Veto threats on the defense authorization bill are nothing new for this or any other administration, and yet the bill always becomes law. But what is unusual this year is Trump’s strong objections to both chambers’ versions of the bill, despite his own party’s control of the Senate.

Trump has grumbled about a lengthy and diverse list of provisions, most notably and publicly language in both bills that would require the Pentagon to rename military installations that pay homage to the Confederacy. Continue reading.