House Overwhelmingly Passes Defense Bill

“The House on Tuesday passed a bipartisan $741 billion defense authorization bill by a sizeable veto-proof majority, throwing down the first of two expected gauntlets before President Trump, who has escalated his threat to scuttle the legislation,” the Washington Post reports.

“The 335 to 78 vote represents a bigger margin of victory for the bill than the House mustered for an earlier version of the legislation this summer. House leaders credit the increased support to changes that were made during a months-long negotiation process between the Senate and House, despite Trump’s exhortations to House Republicans to vote against the bill.”

New York Times: “It also amounted to a remarkable break from the president by Republicans, who refused to defer to Mr. Trump’s desire to derail the critical bill as his time in the White House comes to a close.”