White House won't weigh in on Senate defense policy bill -- yet

The White House, citing a compressed legislative schedule, is opting to withhold comment on the Senate's version of the fiscal year 2019 defense authorization bill but plans to do so in the near future, according to a statement from the Office of Management and Budget.

The Senate is scheduled to begin debating the $716 billion bill tonight.

"Given the short time frame between public release of the bill and Senate action, the administration is not presenting detailed views at this time," OMB said. "The Administration looks forward to presenting its views on S. 2987 in the near future and working with the Congress to address them."

Meanwhile, the bill includes provisions that could prove thorny for the administration, such as a major military roles and missions review that could upend a host of the Pentagon's top weapons programs.