House narrowly passes massive annual defense policy bill

House lawmakers on Wednesday narrowly passed a nearly $1.15 trillion annual defense policy bill, advancing the measure amid increasing tension over military spending and the war in Iran.

The tally was 216-212, with six Democrats voting for the bill and seven Republicans voting against it.

The lawmakers who crossed the aisle were Republican Reps. Josh Brecheen (Okla.), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Harriet Hageman (Wyo.), Anna Paulina Luna (Fla.), Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Chip Roy (Texas); and Democratic Reps. Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (N.C.), Jared Golden (Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Adam Gray (Calif.) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.).

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) expands U.S. defense production capacity, raises all service members’ pay by five to seven percent, authorizes $1.8 billion for barracks and family housing, and expands access to education and childcare for military families. The legislation authorizes $56 billion for aircraft development, including for next-generation fighter jets, B-21 Raiders, P-8 maritime patrol planes, F-35s, Chinook and Blackhawk helicopters. 

It greenlights more than $60 billion in funding for construction and support of a fourth Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, two Virginia-class submarines and two Arleigh-Burke class destroyers. The bill also codifies a number of Trump administration executive orders, including building the Golden Dome, one of President Trump’s top defense priorities. 

After the vote, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) lauded the bill as one that would “ensure America maintains the most lethal, most dynamic, most capable fighting force in the world. This year’s NDAA builds on key investments in the Working Families Tax Cuts as Republicans lead the charge to restore America’s military dominance and rebuild the arsenal of freedom.”

“In an increasingly dangerous world, we are reminded of President Reagan’s admonition that freedom is not passed along in the bloodstream; it must be fought for and protected so the next generation may enjoy the same level of security and opportunity we have known. And that starts in Congress. Safeguarding our liberties by providing for our common defense is one of our most basic responsibilities as elected representatives, and this year’s NDAA meets the moment,” he added in a statement.

The bill will also be attached to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, Trump’s voter ID bill, before being sent to the Senate — a process known as MIRVing.

The NDAA typically enjoys broader bipartisan support but has faced challenges on Capitol Hill this year amid the Iran war. 

Democrats blocked the Senate’s version of the legislation in the upper chamber last week. 

Nearly half of the Democratic lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee voted against advancing the NDAA last month after the panel’s Republicans blocked their attempts to cut funding earmarked for Trump’s “Golden Fleet” Navy ships, ban the transfer of cluster munitions and shave down the top-line number on this pricey request. 

Massie, who has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s handling of the Iran war, cited the NDAA’s inclusion of a provision to expand the U.S. military’s collaboration with Israel’s defense forces on weapons and intelligence development. 

Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) sought to strip Section 219 from this measure, which would direct Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to appoint an “executive agent” at the Pentagon to supervise the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative. Massie’s amendment to remove the provision was excluded by the House earlier this week. 

The House adopted two amendments from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) to alter Section 219, striking the line “and annually thereafter until 2030” and inserting “and annually thereafter until the date on which there is no longer an executive agent designated under subsection (a).” 

A rising death toll among U.S. troops engaged in this conflict has further endangered the Pentagon’s policy bill, as the American public becomes increasingly opposed to these military operations. Eighteen service members have been killed in action since the U.S. and Israel launched the war in March.

There were more than 300 amendments made in order for the bill. The chamber adopted Rep. Andy Biggs’s (R-Ariz.) amendment that would cut the defense budget by 0.5 percent if any component of the Pentagon fails an audit, with the money going to the Treasury Department to reduce the deficit.

But the chamber also rejected many measures, including handily defeating Crane’s amendment that would have prevented any Pentagon funding from going toward Ukraine security assistance other than funds for the security of the U.S. embassy in the country.

The vast majority of Democrats voted against the NDAA.

“The American people are being crushed under the weight of inflation, as Trump’s unconstitutional war raises gas prices. And a small fraction of the money Republicans have put in this bill could restore the Medicaid cuts that pushed millions off their healthcare, pay for universal pre-k, any number of things that would actually ease the cost of living crisis that Americans are facing,” progressive Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said in a statement. “Time and again we are seeing from this administration, and their Republican yes-men in Congress, that they simply do not care that working people are struggling. I refuse to support that agenda and will continue working to stop this funding and actually invest in our people and our communities.”

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