WASHINGTON, 29 December, 2020, (TON): The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Monday to override President Donald Trump's veto of a $740 billion defense policy bill, in a rebuke to the president that underscored deep divisions in the Republican Party during his final weeks in office.

The 322-87 House vote, in which 109 Republicans voted to override Trump's veto, leaves the measure's fate to the Republican-led Senate, where a final vote is expected this week. If the Senate seconds the House action, it would be the first veto override of Trump's presidency.

The Democrat-controlled chamber voted 322-87 to override the veto of the bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA defines the policy for the US Department of Defense and has passed every year in the last five decades.

Trump said he blocked the legislation, because he wanted it to overturn liability protections for social media companies unrelated to national security, and opposed a provision to rename military bases named after generals who fought for the pro-slavery Confederacy during the Civil War.

The defense bill also has provisions that could impede Trump's plans to pull back thousands of troops from places like Afghanistan and Germany.

Trump said during his veto that the bill restricts his ability to conduct foreign policy, "particularly my efforts to bring our troops home.''

The legislation, which addresses a host of defence policy issues and includes a pay raise for U.S. troops, has been passed by Congress every year since 1961.

The bill passed both chambers of Congress with margins greater than the two-thirds majorities needed to override the president's veto.

So far, Congress has not been able to override a Trump veto but the defense bill has garnered extensive support from US lawmakers.