Thursday, December 24, 2020

Trump Vetoes NDAA Bill for a Very Specific Reason



After signaling last night that he would veto the Coronavirus Relief Package passed by Congress, Trump has now notified Congress that he will be vetoing the National Defense Authorization Act Funding bill for this year.  Like his veto announced last night, stating he wanted a higher payout to Americans, Trump was very specific about the reason for his veto of the NDAA bill.

Trump stated that he was concerned that Congress didn’t address a repeal or correction with Section 230, which provides legal immunity for social media companies and internet service providers, for any content found on their servers.


To be frank, Trump was right to hold the line on Section 230, as social media companies during the 2020 election used editor power to censor Conservative messaging.  If a social media company is willing to leave their content free and open, it then would be a clear inclusion in Section 230 immunity.  The problem is that social media companies have attempted to have editorial control over the content found on their sites (thus making them a publisher and not a free-and-open forum) and I believe that should eliminate their access to Section 230 privileges.

The left has attempted to say that Trump’s primary concern is with the 2021 NDAA bill was the renaming of military bases named for Confederate Generals, however, I believe had the Section 230 repeal or fix been in the bill, Trump would have signed it immediately.

The rejection of this NDAA bill will likely keep Congress in DC as lawmakers were hoping to flee the Capitol for Christmas.  Whether or not Congress has the votes for a veto override is still unknown but most think that Congress will override Trump’s veto to free up funding for the military.