A majority of Senate Republicans joined Democrats to pass the National Defense Authorization Act Friday, even though it fails to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and will begin scrubbing Confederate symbols from the military.
President Donald Trump signaled that he would veto the bill if it did not eliminate Section 230 protections for tech companies. He already signaled his opposition to a Democrat effort to rename famous military bases named after Civil War generals that fought for the confederacy.
The bill passed with a vote of 84-13, easily earning a veto-proof majority if the president follows through with his veto threat.
Senate Democrats successfully negotiated a provision in the bill to begin the process of removing confederate symbols from the military.
The bill will create an eight-member commission to develop a plan to purge Confederate names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia in the Department of Defense. The commission will have a $2 million budget, with a report due October 2021. It will also be legally required to act within the next three years.
This year, 43 Senate Republicans voted for the bill, including Georgia Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, both campaigning for the runoff election against Democrat opponents.
Seven Republican senators voted against the bill, including Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-MO) John Kennedy (R-LA), Mike Braun (R-IN), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Rand Paul (R-KY).
Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) did not vote.