The Senate is scheduled to vote Friday on overriding President Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, marking the first potential override of Trump’s presidency and delivering a final and rare rebuke by GOP lawmakers who have mostly demonstrated unwavering fealty to the president. Sixty votes are needed in the Senate to limit debate on the president’s veto of the $740-billion spending package, which passed the Senate last month with a veto-proof 84-13 majority. A final vote is expected Friday afternoon, with a two-thirds majority required to overturn the veto, but extended debate could push the vote to Saturday. All of this is prologue to the ultimate and perhaps final loyalty test for Republicans — the final ratification by Congress on Jan. 6 of the 2020 election results. AdvertisementWith McConnell and other GOP lawmakers having already recognized Biden as the president-elect and expressed frustration with Hawley, it’s all but certain that Trump’s final gambit will fail.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 01, 2021 16:07 UTC