Donald Trump threatens to veto annual defense bill unless Congress abandons bipartisan demand to rename military bases that have Confederate names
President Donald Trump is again threatening to veto legislation to fund the military over a bipartisan provision that will remove the names of Confederates from bases.
NBC News reported Monday that Trump has told Republican lawmakers since the November 3 presidential election that he plans to keep his campaign promise to supporters and veto the National Defense Authorization Act over the provision.
'He's said that,' a senior administration official told NBC News, confirming the conversations.
President Donald Trump has renewed his veto threat over a military funding bill that includes a provision that would change the name of 10 bases named for Confederates
Fort Bragg is among the bases that would be renamed if the bill passes. Since June, Trump has leaned into culture war issues, including wanting to retain Confederate names on bases
Trump leaned in to culture war themes after the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, which reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter movement.
On June 10, he tweeted out a statement and had White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany come out to the podium and read it.
'These Monumental and very Powerful Bases have become part of a Great American Heritage, and a history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom,' Trump said. 'The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars.'
'Therefore, my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations,' Trump said.
Black Lives Matter activists have encouraged the removal of Confederate statues and relics, because those southerners tried to keep black people enslaved and fought the Civil War over it.
Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy had told Politico he was 'open' to renaming the 10 bases named for Confederate figures. Floyd's death and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, motivated McCarthy's change of heart, one Army official told Politico.
On June 30, Trump made his first veto threat after Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who ran for the 2020 Democratic nomination, inserted the provision to rename the bases into the bill.
It passed with bipartisan consensus, but was a voice vote - meaning there's no record of which Republicans defected from Trump's position.
Trump angrily tweeted about it then.
'I will Veto the Defense Authorization Bill if the Elizabeth "Pocahontas" Warren (of all people!) Amendment, which will lead to the renaming (plus other bad things!) of Fort Bragg, Fort Robert E. Lee, and many other Military Bases from which we won Two World Wars, is in the Bill!' Trump wrote.
The bill still passed the House and Senate overwhelmingly.
But now, with a veto threat hanging over it, some of Trump's Republican allies are pushing for the provision to be removed.
Sen. Jim Inhofe, according to The New York Times, told lawmakers last week the requirement would have to be stripped for the bill to get through.
Earlier in the year Inhofe, who chairs the Armed Services Committee, promised Trump privately he would scrap it.
Democrats, for their part, are standing firm in wanting to retain the provision.
Thirty-seven Democratic senators penned a letter to Inhofe and other GOP leaders on November 10.
'Millions of servicemembers of color have lived on, trained at, and deployed from installations named to honor traitors that killed Americans in defense of chattel slavery,' they wrote.
'Renaming these bases does not disrespect our military – it honors the sacrifices and contributions of our servicemembers in a way that better reflects our nation’s diversity and values,' the Democrats argued. 'We know who these bases were named for and why they were named.'
'It is long past the time to correct this longstanding, historic injustice,' they added. 'We must not shrink from our solemn duty in his moment.'
Ex-Defense Secretary Mark Esper was quietly working with Congress to rename the bases.
He was sacked by Trump six days after the election, marking the president's first major firing after his loss.
THE 10 BASES NAMED FOR CONFEDERATE GENERALS
Camp Beauregard, Louisiana
National Guard training facility. Initially named Camp Stafford. Renamed for Confederate general P. G. T. Beauregard in 1917
Beauregard was West Point superintendent when his native Louisiana seceded in 1861 but quit to join the rebels, firing the first shots at Fort Sumter and commanding them at Shiloh. He advised surrender in 1865. Unusually advocated integration in later life.
Fort Benning, Alabama/Georgia
'Home of the Infantry.' Named in 1917 for plantation owner Henry L. Benning, who argued for secession from 1849, and railed against 'black governors, black legislatures, black juries, black everything.' No military experience but rose to general and was one of the last to surrender at the ceremony at Appomattox Court House.
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Home of Special Operations Command. Named for General Braxton Bragg when it opened in 1918
Slaveowner former U.S. Army officer who joined the Confederates and rose to general but oversaw a string of defeats, culminating in Chattanooga when he resigned. Widely disliked by his men for his quick temper and obsession with discipline; historians have said his losses were a key part in Grant's victory.
Fort Gordon, Georgia
Base for Army Signal Corps and Cyber Corps. Named for Major General John Brown Gordon when it opened in 1917
Despite no military training Gordon rose to major general, on the back of personal courage and tactical ability. Led the last charge of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox. Generally - but not definitively - acknowledged as the KKK's leader in Georgia, then anti-Reconstruction governor and senator. Died in 1904 hailed as 'the living embodiment of the Confederacy.'
Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia
Training and maneuver center. Named for General A.P. Hill when it opened in 1940
Hill was a career Army officer who quit just before Virginia seceded and immediately joined its forces. Distinguished brigade and division commander but blamed as Third Corps commander for part of the Gettysburg defeat and lead the rebel retreat. Killed in action a week before the Confederate surrender, after saying he did not want to outlive the Confederacy.
Fort Hood, Texas
Headquarters of III Corps. Named on opening in 1942 for General John Bell Hood
Kentucky native Hood resigned his Army commission and volunteered for the Confederates in Texas, quickly becoming brigadier-general but failed as an army commander and was relieved of command after defeat at Nashville.
Fort Lee, Virginia
Headquarters of Combined Arms Support Command. Named on opening as a camp in 1917 for General Robert E. Lee
Slaveowner Lee, the Army's most brilliant officer, turned down a Union command to join the rebels despite opposing secession. He had victories in the Seven Days Battles and the second Bull Run, but led the rebels to the pivotal defeat at Gettysburg. Held off Grant from complete victory then personally surrendered at Appomattox as General in Chief. After the war backed the end of slavery but said black people 'lack intelligence.'
Fort Pickett, Virginia
National Guard training site. Named for Major General George Pickett on opening in 1941
Pickett, raised on a plantation, resigned his Army commission a month after joining the Confederacy. Best known for the bloodbath of Pickett's Charge which led to defeat at Gettysburg, he also ordered 22 Union soldiers executed after defeat at New Bern, North Carolina. Fled to Canada for a year after Confederate defeat fearing he would be prosecuted for the crime. His wife's hagiography of him was a key part of the 'Lost Cause' movement of the 1890s onward - which itself led to the bases' Confederate names.
Fort Polk, Louisiana
Home of the Joint Readiness Training Center. Named on opening in 1941 for General (and bishop) Leonidas Polk
Polk quit a brief Army career to become an Episcopal priest but was estimated to have as many as 400 slaves in the 1850s. So keen on secession that he set up a Confederate church, his brief military experience earned him commission as major-general. Led troops at a series of defeats including Shiloh and was regarded as a poor tactician disliked by those he led. Killed by shellfire at Atlanta after being spotted personally by Sherman.
Fort Rucker, Alabama
Home to Army Aviation Center of Excellence. Renamed from Ozark Triangular Division Camp in 1942 for Brigadier General Edmund Rucker
Rucker volunteered as a private and rose quickly, playing a key role at the Confederate victory at Chickamauga but was captured and freed in a prisoner swap organized by Nathan Bedford Forrest. Was with Forrest when Union prisoners were systematically massacred at Pillow Hill, and worked with him after surrender, when Forrest established the KKK.
THE 10 BASES NAMED FOR CONFEDERATE GENERALS
Camp Beauregard, Louisiana
National Guard training facility. Initially named Camp Stafford. Renamed for Confederate general P. G. T. Beauregard in 1917
Beauregard was West Point superintendent when his native Louisiana seceded in 1861 but quit to join the rebels, firing the first shots at Fort Sumter and commanding them at Shiloh. He advised surrender in 1865. Unusually advocated integration in later life.
Fort Benning, Alabama/Georgia
'Home of the Infantry.' Named in 1917 for plantation owner Henry L. Benning, who argued for secession from 1849, and railed against 'black governors, black legislatures, black juries, black everything.' No military experience but rose to general and was one of the last to surrender at the ceremony at Appomattox Court House.
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Home of Special Operations Command. Named for General Braxton Bragg when it opened in 1918
Slaveowner former U.S. Army officer who joined the Confederates and rose to general but oversaw a string of defeats, culminating in Chattanooga when he resigned. Widely disliked by his men for his quick temper and obsession with discipline; historians have said his losses were a key part in Grant's victory.
Fort Gordon, Georgia
Base for Army Signal Corps and Cyber Corps. Named for Major General John Brown Gordon when it opened in 1917
Despite no military training Gordon rose to major general, on the back of personal courage and tactical ability. Led the last charge of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox. Generally - but not definitively - acknowledged as the KKK's leader in Georgia, then anti-Reconstruction governor and senator. Died in 1904 hailed as 'the living embodiment of the Confederacy.'
Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia
Training and maneuver center. Named for General A.P. Hill when it opened in 1940
Hill was a career Army officer who quit just before Virginia seceded and immediately joined its forces. Distinguished brigade and division commander but blamed as Third Corps commander for part of the Gettysburg defeat and lead the rebel retreat. Killed in action a week before the Confederate surrender, after saying he did not want to outlive the Confederacy.
Fort Hood, Texas
Headquarters of III Corps. Named on opening in 1942 for General John Bell Hood
Kentucky native Hood resigned his Army commission and volunteered for the Confederates in Texas, quickly becoming brigadier-general but failed as an army commander and was relieved of command after defeat at Nashville.
Fort Lee, Virginia
Headquarters of Combined Arms Support Command. Named on opening as a camp in 1917 for General Robert E. Lee
Slaveowner Lee, the Army's most brilliant officer, turned down a Union command to join the rebels despite opposing secession. He had victories in the Seven Days Battles and the second Bull Run, but led the rebels to the pivotal defeat at Gettysburg. Held off Grant from complete victory then personally surrendered at Appomattox as General in Chief. After the war backed the end of slavery but said black people 'lack intelligence.'
Fort Pickett, Virginia
National Guard training site. Named for Major General George Pickett on opening in 1941
Pickett, raised on a plantation, resigned his Army commission a month after joining the Confederacy. Best known for the bloodbath of Pickett's Charge which led to defeat at Gettysburg, he also ordered 22 Union soldiers executed after defeat at New Bern, North Carolina. Fled to Canada for a year after Confederate defeat fearing he would be prosecuted for the crime. His wife's hagiography of him was a key part of the 'Lost Cause' movement of the 1890s onward - which itself led to the bases' Confederate names.
Fort Polk, Louisiana
Home of the Joint Readiness Training Center. Named on opening in 1941 for General (and bishop) Leonidas Polk
Polk quit a brief Army career to become an Episcopal priest but was estimated to have as many as 400 slaves in the 1850s. So keen on secession that he set up a Confederate church, his brief military experience earned him commission as major-general. Led troops at a series of defeats including Shiloh and was regarded as a poor tactician disliked by those he led. Killed by shellfire at Atlanta after being spotted personally by Sherman.
Fort Rucker, Alabama
Home to Army Aviation Center of Excellence. Renamed from Ozark Triangular Division Camp in 1942 for Brigadier General Edmund Rucker
Rucker volunteered as a private and rose quickly, playing a key role at the Confederate victory at Chickamauga but was captured and freed in a prisoner swap organized by Nathan Bedford Forrest. Was with Forrest when Union prisoners were systematically massacred at Pillow Hill, and worked with him after surrender, when Forrest established the KKK.