Pelosi and McConnell Plan to Test Trump’s Veto on Defense Bill

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are moving to bring the defense authorization bill for a vote in both chambers, likely testing President Donald Trump’s threat to veto the bill, according to a congressional aide familiar with the discussions.

• Neither chamber’s defense bill includes legislation about Section 230, the tech liability shield that Trump says must be abolished by Congress
• Pelosi is ready to bring the bipartisan bill to the floor, says a senior Democratic aide who asked not to be named in order to discuss plans
• Separately, McConnell is planning to name conferees to the defense authorization negotiations, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, says in an interview
  • Senate on Wednesday morning agreed to officially proceed to conference on the defense bill by unanimous consent
• McConnnell’s office wasn’t immediately able to comment
• Armed services committee leaders in both chambers were planning to have the signatures in place by the end of the week so that the chambers can take up the bill next week, according to the congressional aide