Trump vetoes sweeping US defence spending bill

Washington: US President Donald Trump vetoed a broad defence funding bill sent to him by Congress Tuesday, complaining that it helps Russia and China and objecting to provisions to rename military bases.

The National Defence Authorization Act “fails to include critical national security measures, includes provisions that fail to respect our veterans and our military’s history, and contradicts efforts by my Administration to put America first in our national security and foreign policy actions,” Trump said in a statement.

The sweeping bill was passed by high enough margins in both chambers for lawmakers to in theory override the president’s rejection.