Trump tweets support for defense policy bill

President Trump released a tweet this morning saying he will sign the compromise version of the fiscal year 2020 defense authorization bill the House is expected to vote on this afternoon.

Trump tweeted: "Wow! All of our priorities have made it into the final NDAA: Pay Raise for our Troops, Rebuilding our Military, Paid Parental Leave, Border Security, and Space Force! Congress – don't delay this anymore! I will sign this historic defense legislation immediately!"

House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) touted the bill as the "most progressive" in history, despite opposition from some liberal Democrats who criticized the legislation for not including a ban on U.S. involvement in the Saudi-led coalition's war in Yemen, a requirement for congressional consent for a military strike against Iran, global cleanup of PFAS chemicals, an overturning of a ban on transgender troops, and a ban on low-yield nuclear weapons.

Still, Smith said, "this is the most progressive defense bill in the history of the country with Donald Trump as president and [Sen.] Jim Inhofe [R-OK] as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. I will rest on that sentence."