'Not What Resistance to Trump Looks Like': Bernie Sanders Rips Senate for Passing $738 Billion Pentagon Budget

Democratic presidential hopeful Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders participates during the fourth Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign. (Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

'Not What Resistance to Trump Looks Like': Bernie Sanders Rips Senate for Passing $738 Billion Pentagon Budget

"We need to fundamentally change our priorities as a nation," said the 2020 Democratic candidate as military spending bill heads to president's desk.

Sen. Bernie Sanders condemned passage of a massive $738 billion Pentagon spending bill in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, declaring: "this is not what resistance to Donald Trump looks like."

The final vote in the Senate was 86 in favor, 8 voting against, and 6 members--including Sanders, out on the campaign trail--who did not vote. Also not voting were the other three U.S. Senators still running as 2020 presidential candidates: Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Amy Klobuchar. Having already cleared the U.S. House, the bill is now head to President Donald Trump's desk where he is expected to sign it.

"Congress just passed a $738 billion defense package," tweeted Sanders following the vote, along with a video denouncing the enormous sums devoted year after year to military expenditures. "We spend more on defense than China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, India, the U.K., France, Japan, Germany, South Korea, and Brazil ...combined. We need to fundamentally change our priorities as a nation."

Following the vote, Sanders also shared a video featuring Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) who condemned the passage of the NDAA in the U.S. House last week. In the wake of the House vote, Khanna called the NDAA's approval "an astonshing act of moral cowardice" and a "complete capitulation to the White House" by Democrats. Khanna has endorsed Sanders in his 2020 presidential bid and acts as national co-chair for the campaign.

In his tweet of the video, Sanders said, "Rep. Ro Khanna is right--this is not what resistance to Donald Trump looks like."

Join Us: News for people demanding a better world


Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place.

We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference.

Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Join with us today!

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.