Obama’s First Veto?

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In a rare move, the White House has threatened to veto the defense budget bill if it contains money for extra F-22s. From a letter released today (PDF):

The collective judgment of the Service Chiefs and Secretaries of the military departments suggests that a final program of record of 187 F-22s is sufficient to meet operational requirements.  If the final bill presented to the President contains this provision, the President’s senior advisors would recommend a veto. 

(h/t: Travis Sharp)

Obama hasn’t waved his veto pen around much yet. Before taking office, he vowed to veto any bill that would prevent him from releasing the second half of the bailout funds. But otherwise he’s been circumspect about deploying the ‘v’ word, even on his top policy priorities. He hasn’t, for instance, indicated that he’d refuse to sign a health care bill that lacks a public option. So this is definitely an interesting development.

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PLEASE—BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

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