BRUNSWICK, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and co-chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, expressed his frustration after President Trump vetoed the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021. The legislation previously passed both the Senate and the House of Representatives by overwhelmingly bipartisan, veto-proof majorities; the legislation will now return to Congress, which will hold a vote to override the President’s veto.

“By vetoing the overwhelmingly-bipartisan NDAA, President Trump is denying a pay raise for our nation’s servicemembers, undermining our national security, and threatening Maine jobs at facilities like Bath Iron Works and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard,” said Senator King. “The President has cited a variety of different reasons to explain why he opposes this bill, but each excuse is either patently false, wholly unrelated to the military, or antithetical to America’s values. What should raise grave concern in every American, regardless of political beliefs, is that this NDAA is the single-most comprehensive piece of cybersecurity legislation ever passed by Congress; as we work to determine the harm done by the recent cyber incursion, the provisions in this NDAA would be a shield against future tactics by our foes worldwide. In the days ahead, I hope that the large, veto-proof majorities which initially supported this legislation will come together once again to override the President’s veto – for the good of our servicemembers and our nation.”