The Senate voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to pass a $716 billion defense authorization bill, sending the record-setting measure to President Trump while avoiding confrontational policy changes that would have angered him. The 87-to-10 vote comes barely a week after the House passed the same measure, which negotiators agreed on after just a few weeks. In recent years, it has taken several months to iron out differences between the House and Senate’s versions of the giant defense bill. and we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves.”[House passes annual defense bill, avoiding big policy clashes with Trump]The bill prohibits the federal government from using ZTE products, as well as those manufactured by Huawei, another Chinese telecom giant. The defense bill includes a reaffirmation of the United States’ commitment to NATO and establishes a new position on the National Security Council dedicated to countering Russian election interference.

Source: Washington Post August 01, 2018 19:06 UTC