White House Threatens to Veto Defense Legislation Over Provision to Rename Military Bases
The White House is taking issue with a select few sections of the annual defense policy legislation as it includes a provision to rename military bases named after Confederate leaders. The Office of Management and…
The White House is taking issue with a select few sections of the annual defense policy legislation as it includes a provision to rename military bases named after Confederate leaders.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a statement on Tuesday expressing the concerns it has with some of the provisions included in the National Defense Authorization Act.
“Among other major provisions, the Administration strongly objects to section 2829, which would require renaming of certain military institutions,” the statement reads.
It continues, “It also has serious concerns about provisions of the bill
that seek to micromanage aspects of the executive branch’s authority, impose highly prescriptive limitations on the use of funds for Afghanistan, and otherwise constrain the President’s authority to protect national security interests.”
According to the statement, the provision to rename military bases is “part of a sustained effort to erase from the history of the Nation those who do not meet an ever-shifting standard of conduct.”
Included in the statement is the recognition of the protests breaking out across the nation calling for the removal or renaming of monuments and memorials.
The statement reiterates President Donald Trump stands against attempts to remove or rename what the Administration is calling symbols of American history.
“President Trump has been clear in his opposition to politically motivated attempts like this to rewrite history and to displace the enduring legacy of the American Revolution with a new left-wing cultural revolution,” the statement reads.
Trump issued an executive order on June 26 protecting monuments, memorials, and statues.
Others have expressed their support for the move to rename military bases including Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, as IJR previously reported.
During an interview with CBS on Sunday, Powell was asked if these military bases need to be renamed.
“I would rename the bases,” Powell said.
Powell also pushed back against Trump’s defense of Confederate monuments, as IJR previously reported.
When asked if he thought Trump was racist, Powell called Trump “intolerant” and said “he doesn’t understand our history at all.”
On July 14 during an interview with CBS News, Trump defended Americans’ right to display the Confederate flag.
He claimed Americans “love it” and they are not necessarily “thinking about slavery.”