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Washington (AP) - Shortly before the end of his presidency, Donald Trump takes on the US Congress because of the defense budget: The Republican has vetoed the budget of 740 billion dollars (around 610 billion euros), which was decided by a bipartisan majority .
But Congress could overrule him with a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate before the end of the year.
It would be the first time in Trump's term in office that Congress overrode its veto.
The legislative package is a “gift” for China and Russia, which also makes it impossible to bring US soldiers abroad “home (where they belong)”, wrote Trump on Twitter on Saturday.
To justify his veto, he declared on Wednesday, among other things, that Parliament wanted to block the troop withdrawal from Germany that he had ordered.
He also criticized the fact that online platforms would not be more strictly regulated with the law.
He also spoke out against the planned renaming of several military bases, which are named after heroes of the former Confederate.
The troops of the southern states had fought against the abolition of slavery and more rights for blacks in the American Civil War.
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Resistance arose immediately from Congress - and that in both parties.
The chairman of the House of Representatives, the Democrat Nancy Pelosi, accused Trump of wanting to plunge the country into "chaos" in the last legs of his term of office.
The veto is an act of “breathtaking irresponsibility”, denying soldiers and the military urgently needed funds and endangering national security, Pelosi said.
The House of Representatives will override Trump's veto on Monday, she said.
Republican Senate Defense Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe said the legislative package was "absolutely essential to our military and national security."
Trump had previously announced his veto.
Both chambers of the Congress had originally approved the budget with more than a two-thirds majority.
Should it come to that again, Trump's veto would be invalid.
Trump had vetoed eight times in his four-year term in office, but was never overruled by Congress.
On Tuesday, Trump surprisingly indicated that he also wanted to block a corona stimulus package supported by both parties.
The defense budget, in turn, was passed with cross-party support for 59 consecutive years.
Because the failure of the military budget to come about is politically unthinkable, the legislative package, as usual, also deals with numerous regulations that actually have nothing to do with the financing of the armed forces, but can be enforced.
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Trump, for example, wanted Congress to change what is known as Section 230, which protects online platforms from being liable for content published by their users.
Trump calls the regulation "a serious threat to national security".
Critics accuse Trump of wanting to take revenge on Twitter and Facebook because they repeatedly warned him about the alleged fraud in the presidential election.
The legislative package provides, among other things, that the massive withdrawal of American soldiers from Germany planned by Trump will be blocked for the time being.
There it says that the US Secretary of Defense must state in a report to Congress whether such a withdrawal would be in the national interest of the US.
At the earliest 120 days later, the number of US soldiers stationed in the Federal Republic may fall below the limit of 34,500.
Trump was furious on Wednesday that this was not only bad politics, but also unconstitutional.
The president is in command of the armed forces.
The decision as to how many soldiers will be deployed where is therefore his.
The more than 4,500-page legislative package also provides that threatened sanctions against the German-Russian Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 2 are to be expanded.
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Republican Trump lost the presidential election on November 3rd to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump refuses to admit defeat.
Biden is due to be sworn in on January 20th.
Until then, Trump will continue to be in office with all rights as president.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201226-99-816635 / 2
Overview of previous eight vetoes during Trump's term of office
US Senate to veto powers of the president
Opinion Pelosis, English
Tweet Senator Inhofe, English
Tweet Lindsey Grahams, English
Trump tweet from Saturday, English