Stevenson’s army, December 24

The president has vetoed the NDAA [message here]; the House will try to override on Monday.
RollCall reports that the first State Dept authorization bill in two decades was dropped from inclusion in the NDAA because of WH demands from Ivanka Trump.

The omnibus appropriations and covid relief bill faces an uncertain future. If sent to WH today,  Congress could avoid a pocket veto with override votes by the morning of Jan 3.Meanwhile, Speaker Pelosi promises a unanimous consent motion today to have $2000 stimulus checks, as requested by Trump. GOP leader McCarthy may offer his own UC to strip the foreign aid money from the bill.
In other news, the administration considers closing the Baghdad embassy after the recent attacks from uncertain sources.
Administration wants $500 million arms sale to Saudis.
How to respond to Russian cyber hack. Fred Kaplan has measured response.

Just Security writer calls for legal agreements drawing the line between espionage and attacks.