President Trump vows to veto defense bill if military base renaming amendment is included

President Donald Trump threatened late Tuesday night to veto the National Defense Authorization Act should it include an amendment to rename military bases and assets named after Confederate generals and soldiers.

The president made the announcement on Twitter just before midnight, saying, "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!"

The amendment filed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) passed the GOP-led Senate Armed Services Committee last week and, if signed into law, would require the Defense Department to rename any and all posts and assets honoring the Confederacy within three years.

In her filing, Warren linked to an op-ed by retired Army Gen. David Petraeus arguing that military assets honoring rebel "traitors" should be renamed.

President Trump has been vehemently opposed to the prospect of renaming the assets ever since the idea was first introduced.

Earlier this month, he tweeted that the "Monumental and very Powerful Bases have become a part of a Great American Heritage, and a history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom."

"The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars," he added.

The amendment has also faced opposition in Congress. According to The Hill, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a proposal to block Warren's amendment, saying, "This latest effort to unilaterally rename bases ... smacks of the cancel culture the Left wants to impose on the nation."

It was introduced as part of an effort in recent weeks by many to erase the presence of symbols deemed to be racist in the country following George Floyd's death.