Jim Inhofe: NDAA Amendment to Change Confederate Base Names Won’t ‘Survive’

Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Jim Inhofe (R-OK) said in an interview on Friday the provision that would rename military bases named after Confederate generals will not “survive.”

Inhofe’s comment follows as President Donald Trump threatened to veto the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) if it were to rename military bases named after Confederate generals. Trump said on Friday that he spoke to Inhofe, who told him the government would not rename the bases.

Trump wrote, “I spoke to highly respected (Chairman) Senator @JimInhofe, who has informed me that he WILL NOT be changing the names of our great Military Bases and Forts, places from which we won two World Wars (and more!). Like me, Jim is not a believer in ‘Cancel Culture”:

I spoke to highly respected (Chairman) Senator @JimInhofe, who has informed me that he WILL NOT be changing the names of our great Military Bases and Forts, places from which we won two World Wars (and more!). Like me, Jim is not a believer in “Cancel Culture”.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2020

Inhofe told the Oklahoman he would move to strip the provision that would rename military bases.

“We’re going to see to it that provision doesn’t survive the bill,” Inhofe told the Oklahoman. However, he added, “I’m not going to say how at this point.”

The Senate had already approved its version of the NDAA on Thursday, and the House has passed its version with a provision similar to the Senate bill.

Leacy Burke, Inhofe’s spokesperson, said Trump’s tweet about his conversation with the senator “speaks for itself.”

Conservatives such as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) moved to oppose the amendment Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sponsored.

Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Roger Wicker (R-MS) have backed Hawley’s amendment, which would eliminate the amendment in the NDAA.

During one of Hawley’s Senate floor speeches in July announcing his move to strip Warren’s amendment from the NDAA, he said the Massachusetts progressive’s measure would not “achieve justice for George Floyd” or “bring our nation together.”