Levin doesn’t think much of the Bush Administration’s vow to veto the 2006 defense authorization bill. In fact, he thinks it’s bluster. The White House says it will nix the bill unless Congress excises references to new standards for treatment of detainees in the war on terror. No way, said the Democrat, because it would make the Administration look terrible politically. “No matter what the threat is, to veto a bill like that … is a false threat.” He added, “I don’t think [the Administration] will.”
The Pentagon is counting on Congress to navigate a legislative tightrope and pass a party-line bill to fund nearly a quarter of its $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal 2027, including billions of dollars for top priorities like Golden Dome, the F-35, munitions, and unmanned systems. Experts and lawmakers from…