President Barack Obama is "willing to put our national offense at risk for political folly" with his threats to veto a $612 billion defense bill passed by Congress earlier this month, Rep. Ryan Zinke told
Newsmax TV on Wednesday.
"I do not understand," Zinke, a Montana Republican who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, told "Newsmax Now" host John Bachman. "As the commander-in-chief, he is obligated to defend this country first and foremost.
"By vetoing this bill — it's not over policy, it's not over funding lines, it's over holding the [defense bill] hostage so it can raise other parts of the budget," he said.
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The Senate voted 70 to 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-to-151 vote, with enough Democratic support to sustain Obama's veto.
Zinke, a former Navy SEAL who is in his first congressional term, told Bachman that Obama's veto threat is especially worrisome as the world grows more volatile and war becomes an increasing possibility in the Middle East and other regions.
"I'm probably the last person who wants to go to war because I've seen it," he said, "but if we choose and have to go war, we want to make sure the troops have the right equipment, the right training and the right rules of engagement to win decisively on the field of battle.
"Before we send them, outline what conditions we need to bring them home."
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