Top US military official will not change names of military bases honouring Confederate leaders
- Republican James Inhofe, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told the president the names would remain the same
- Announcement comes after major Pentagon bill called for the names of Confederate generals be removed from US military facilities
President Donald Trump on Friday said the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, fellow Republican James Inhofe, will not change the names of military bases after Congress passed legislation to rename posts that honour leaders of the Confederate armies who fought against US forces.
“I spoke to highly respected (Chairman) Senator @JimInhofe, who has informed me that he WILL NOT be changing the names of our great Military Bases and Forts, places from which we won two World Wars (and more!),” Trump wrote on Twitter.
The Senate and House of Representatives this week each passed their version of the National Defence Authorisation Act, or NDAA, a massive annual bill setting policy for the Pentagon, including purchases from defence contractors.
One provision of the US$740 billion legislation passed by both chambers was a requirement that the names of Confederate generals be removed from US military facilities like the Army’s Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Hood in Texas.
Tributes to those military leaders – and other slave owners – have been in focus during weeks of protests sparked by the police killings of Black Americans.
Trump, who has deployed federal forces against protesters he calls “anarchists,” promised to veto the NDAA – which has become law for 59 straight years – if the base-name provision remained in the final version.
Now that the Democratic-led House and Republican-controlled Senate have passed versions of the bill, it goes to conference, where lawmakers will come up with a compromise version.