The House voted 213 to 196 to pass its version of the annual defense authorization bill that will need to be reconciled with the Senate.
The bill authorizes $896 billion in total national defense spending and contains key bipartisan legislation that would reform the Pentagon acquisition process.
The bill was passed out of the House Armed Services Committee by a vote of 55-2 but lost most of its bipartisan support on the floor following politically controversial amendments sought by the GOP.
Only 17 Democrats voted for the bill, while only four Republicans opposed it.
Many Democrats said they opposed the bill because it included measures blocking gender-affirming medical care for servicemembers.
Meanwhile, the bill includes an amendment that would repeal the 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force for Iraq.
Other amendments were unsuccessful, like ones proposed by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) that would have blocked U.S. aid to Ukraine and Taiwan.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, thanked Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL) for his bipartisanship during the writing of the initial bill but blamed GOP leadership for sidelining Democrats in the amendment process.
“For the third year running, Republican leadership cast aside that time-honored tradition and strong bipartisan work, placing politics above the needs of our troops and our national security,” Smith said. “They included countless partisan amendments that sought to score points in a right-wing culture war rather than focus on the real needs of our service members and their families. And they refused to include meaningful amendments offered by Democrats, silencing debate of critical issues including the Trump administration’s politicization of our military and executive overreach that threatens our constitutional democracy, which undermines the authority of the Congress. That is why I voted against final passage today.”
Rogers said the bill has a strong, bipartisan “core,” highlighting acquisition reform.
“The FY-26 [defense authorization bill] cuts red tape, streamlines bureaucracy, and refocuses acquisition on its most important mission: getting our warfighters what they need when they need it,” he said. “In addition to modernizing our military and accelerating innovative technologies, the FY-26 [bill] invests in the men and women who serve our country, with a 3.8% payraise for all servicemembers and improved schools, housing, and access to healthcare.”
The bill must now advance to a conference committee with the Senate, which is also considering its version of the bill on the floor this week.
