One of the key hurdles Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had to clear before the House Christmas recess was overcome on a bipartisan basis Wednesday afternoon.
The National Defense Authorization Act, a mammoth package of over 1,800 pages, cleared the house by a vote of 281 to 140 (200 Republicans and 81 Democrats voted “yes”) and will now head to the Senate, where GOP politician (and soon-to-be Majority Leader) John Thune (R-SD) announces he will take the floor Start next week.
Congressional leaders unveiled the massive $883.7 billion package over the weekend, which includes a 14.5 percent pay enhance for junior military members and a 4.5 percent pay enhance for all other members.
The bill passed the House despite opposition from liberal Democrats and some concerns from Republicans who objected to it Number of culture war additions that made it into the traditionally bipartisan bill.
The most controversial provision is a restriction on the exploit of funds from TRICARE, the active-duty military health program, for gender-affirming care for the children of military members ages 18 and younger.
As noted, some members of the House of Representatives were not enthusiastic about several amendments. And it’s not just Democrats but also some Republicans who are upset about limiting coverage of “gender-affirming care” for minors weren’t fans of it either.
Mike Rogers, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee (R-Ala.) also said he was unhappy that Johnson did this regarding the NDAA, although he strongly supports the speaker’s position on the issue. Rogers has been saying this since he was elected president Donald Trump will exclude such health insurance shortly after he is sworn in on Jan. 20, there was no reason to do so through the NDAA.
“We will win tomorrow, but it will be close,” Rogers told reporters Tuesday evening. “[Trump] will prevent all these social and cultural problems from being embedded in political measures. So my point is, I don’t know why this is being included in the bill if it’s a moot point come January 20th.”
“This stuff does not belong in our bill,” Rogers added. “[Johnson] didn’t talk to me about it. I would have preferred if we just let it happen [Trump] On January 20th he will deal with such measures, which he has already indicated. But no one asked me.”
(Rogers ultimately voted for the bill, by the way.)
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It remains unclear whether the measure, including the “culture war changes,” will have the votes in the Senate.
Democrats have found it hard to stay informed about culture war battles, and some of them, including Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, expressed concern that such issues are part of Vice President Harris’ problems could have contributed to the defeat against Trump.
It’s also not clear how demanding Republicans are willing to push for the transgender provision, given that the novel Trump administration has promised to rid the Defense Department of “woke” policies and end up with strict cultural rules Topics could be enacted.
The NDAA also contained other culture war provisions, including a requirement that the Department of Defense not create novel positions related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Republicans have long attacked DEI because it distracts the U.S. military with issues related to gender identity, race and sexual orientation rather than focusing on strength.
Current Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat of New York) is expected to reach an agreement to advance the bill or file a cloture vote on Thursday to agree to a cloture vote on Monday, putting the measure on track for a final vote will be taken next Wednesday.
Next up is the ongoing government funding decision, likely through March. We should know more about what this deal looks like next Thursday.
