The White House will veto a critical annual defense policy poll, claiming the legislation contained “irresponsible” spending gimmicks and onerous burdens restricting the administration’s efforts to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.
In a photo op Thursday afternoon, President Obama will cast his fifth veto since taking office—the fewest of any President since James Garfield. It will be the first time he wields the authority to reject a National Defense Authorization Act, despite a lengthy history of regular disagreements with Congressional Republicans over national security policy.
“The bill includes this slush fund tactic that’s an irresponsible way to fund our most basic national security priorities,” administration spokesman Josh Earnest said of the legislation last week.
The President, and many Democrats, have objected to Republicans’ proposed use of the Pentagon’s overseas military operations fund as a means of funding the entire department.
The GOP sees the maneuver as a way to set funding defense levels above the mandatory maximums set by the Budget Control Act of 2011; the so-called “sequestration” caps. While Democrats aren’t opposed to raising the ceiling on defense spending, they want to do it while simultaneously lifting sequestration ceilings on non-defense spending. Republicans want to leave restrictions on non-defense spending in place.
The administration also objected to language in the bill that would have further restricted the President’s ability to transfer detainees out of the Guantanamo Bay military prison to the United States—a move critical to Obama’s efforts to close down the detention facility before he leaves office.
The Defense Department is already scouting locations in the US that could house Gitmo prisoners should the facility be shuttered.
Although Congress has placed similar restrictions in previous NDAAs, the administration has favored signing statements outlining its opposition over vetoes.
After the president rejects the legislation, it will go back to Capitol Hill, where lawmakers will attempt to override it with a two-thirds majority in both chambers. Although the Senate mustered up enough votes to dispense of the veto when they originally passed the NDAA, House legislators failed to cross the threshold.
