WRIC (NEXSTAR), BASIL JOHN

President Trump vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act, waiting until the deadline to do so.

“He’s kind of playing chicken in a mean-spirited way with our soldiers and their families,” Virginia Senator Mark Warner said.

Warner says the defense bill provides a pay raise for service members, improves cybersecurity, expands 5G, and more.

“You’re going to have to come back between Christmas and New Years and override the veto, and it just feels like this is one more example of this guy going out as a sore loser,” Warner said.

“It’s games, it’s tactics,” Virginia Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger said.

Spanberger says congress will override this veto.

“When our country is yet again being attacked in cyberspace by the Russians. The fact that the president would play games is deeply disappointing,” Spanberger said.

The bill had overwhelming bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, and Republicans seem prepared to break with the president to enact the bill over his objections.

“This is the most important piece of legislation I feel like we pass every year to provide for the common defense of our country,” Missouri Republican Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler said.

Hartzler says she agrees with some of the president’s concerns, including a desire to crack down on social media platforms, but says now is not the time.

“We do need to remove some of those liability protections for some of the social media platforms. That fits in another standalone legislation. It really doesn’t fit in our national defense bill,” Hartzler said.

Congress will return to the Capitol, Monday, to take action on the veto.