The impending rebuke, coming on the heels of his decisive election loss, threatens to end the White House tenure he promised would be full of "winning" instead in stinging defeat. The near-certainty that both the House and Senate will override Trump's veto is also a harbinger of a similar fate awaiting the president if he tries to veto a pending bill to fund the government and address the coronavirus crisis, which he hinted this week he might do.

Trump's last-minute tantrum throws pandemic relief effort into chaos

The House and Senate each passed the defense bill earlier this month with strong veto-proof majorities, rejecting Trump's insistence that it be changed to meet his oftentimes shifting demands. Both chambers are expected to sustain the two-thirds majorities needed to override the president's veto, despite pledges from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and other stalwart Trump allies not to cross the president's wishes.