Republicans widely slammed President Barack Obama Thursday for vetoing the $612 billion defense spending bill, accusing him of putting politics ahead of the nation's Armed Forces.
"Vetoing the National Defense Authorization is an act unbecoming of a commander-in-chief," said Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, an Army veteran of both Afghanistan and Iraq. "This bill is about keeping the faith of the men and women of the armed services.
"Our troops are watching, and they deserve to know they have a commander-in-chief who has their back," he added. "To gratuitously veto this bill for no other reason than to get more political leverage the president sends a deeply harmful message to our troops overseas."
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said Obama's veto "jeopardizes the weapons, vehicles, and aircraft our military needs to protect our country.
"At a time of numerous threats to our nation, a presidential veto of this critical legislation is unconscionable," Thune said.
Obama vetoed the defense legislation in a rare ceremony in the Oval Office. He praised the bill for ensuring the military stays funded and making improvements on armed forces retirement and cybersecurity.
However, the president accused Republicans of resorting to "gimmicks" and allowing other changes needed to address modern security threats.
"Unfortunately, it falls woefully short," Obama said. "I'm going to be sending it back to Congress, and my message to them is very simple: Let's do this right."
The Senate voted 70-27 on Oct. 7 for the defense bill, with 21 Democrats and independents breaking ranks. The House passed the legislation the week before on a 269-151 vote, with enough Democratic support to sustain Obama's veto.
Republicans trashed Obama's action and vowed to muster the votes to override the veto.
"It’s sad to see our commander-in-chief embrace such a reckless political strategy — and even sadder to see he plans to boast about it," House Speaker John Boehner said. "But at least this afternoon’s veto photo-op will make clear to our troops, and the American people, who is blocking the tools and resource our military needs to carry out their important missions.
"They won't forget."
Arizona Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the veto "misguided, cynical and downright dangerous."
"Never before has an American president used the bill that provides pay and support to our troops and their families as political leverage for his domestic agenda," McCain said in a statement with Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. "The American people, and most importantly, the men and women in uniform deployed to fight in dangerous war zones around the world, expect more from their commander-in-chief."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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