What happened in the House on Wednesday?
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a $1.15tn defense policy bill, prompting anger from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) typically passes Congress each year with bipartisan margins, but this year’s path has been complicated by Donald Trump’s decision to join Israel in attacking Iran without first seeking authorization from Congress.
The war has already cost $37.5bn, according to defense secretary Pete Hegseth. Last week, Senate Democrats blocked the advancement of that chamber’s version of the NDAA in protest of the war.
Why are Democrats opposing the bill?
Democrats said the legislation prioritizes military spending over domestic needs and ties Congress to the war in Iran.
“While millions of Americans are struggling to afford basic necessities, Congress is choosing to authorize over $1tn for the Pentagon, once again funneling billions of taxpayer dollars to defense contractors instead of investing in the needs of working people,” Ilhan Omar, a Democratic representative from Minnesota,
She added:
“The American people are sick and tired of funding atrocities abroad and want this war with Iran to end. Yet year after year, the Pentagon fails its audit with virtually no accountability, while Congress continues to increase military spending.”
Jerry Nadler, a Democratic representative from New York, said the bill had been linked to efforts to make voting harder.
“This means the NDAA is now tied to Trump’s attempt to steal elections by making it more difficult for millions of Americans to vote,” Jerry Nadler, a Democratic representative from New York,. “The NDAA is a costly, bad bill that funds an illegal war and undermines our democracy.”
Why are some Republicans objecting?
Further complications came after Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, acceded to the demands of rightwing lawmakers and inserted the Save America Act into the legislation. The Trump-backed proposal would ban mail-in ballots and impose new identification restrictions on voters at the polls and when they register.
“This budget resolution is our best shot at enacting as much of the Save America Act into law as possible,” Johnson -.
Some Republicans also objected to Section 219 of the NDAA, which establishes the US-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.
“Section 219 is a betrayal of our sovereignty,” Kentucky conservative Thomas Massie .Far-right firebrand Lauren Boebert also she sat out on the NDAA vote .
What else is happening in Washington today?
Donald Trump is in Washington today. He’ll be at the Environmental Protection Agency at 2:30pm ET to talk about the ratepayer protection pledge – an agreement signed a pledge by major tech companies that says they will bear the cost of the electricity generation required to power their datacenters. Experts, however, have called the pledge “toothless” and question how it will be enforced.
Later, the president will welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers, the World Series baseball champions, to the White House at 4:30pm ET.
What did Trump say about the Houthis and Iran?
Donald Trump also said the US will “hold responsible” for any actions the Houthis take against shipping.
He said the Houthis had acted “very professionally and smart” .
In a post on Truth Social, he said:
A year ago the United States of America attacked, very powerfully, the Houthis, for their interference with commerce and trade, by shooting at ships. Since that time, and during our conflict with Iran, they have acted very responsibly. Unfortunately, now they are starting up again, shooting at two Saudi Arabian ships last night. Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves, who I am very disappointed with in that they have, until now, acted very professionally and smart.
My colleague Taz Ali has more on our Middle East liveblog here:
What did Trump say about Saudi Arabia and the Abraham accords?
Donald Trump has posted on Truth Social that the yesterday is “totally subject” to Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham accords.
The president wrote:
“The Civil Nuclear Deal (There will be no enrichment of material!) being made between the United States Department of Energy and Saudi Arabia, which pertains only to non-military use such as the ones that and UAE (and others) already have, will be approved, but is totally subject to Saudi Arabia joining the very respected and successful Abraham Accords. The United States is not opposed to Civil (Non-Enriched) Nuclear Facilities.”
What else did House Republicans do on Wednesday?
In addition to passing the National Defense Authorization Act – a key plank of to spend $1.5tn on the military in the 2027 fiscal year – House Republicans on Wednesday agreed to begin the process of writing a $95bn bill to fund the war with Iran.
The passage of this budget resolution paves the way for the creation of a reconciliation bill, which can advance through the Senate under special rules that circumvent the Democratic filibuster and requires only a simple majority to pass.
Like the NDAA, the budget resolution will also likely be used by the House administration committee to pass the Save America Act into law, which will ban mail-in ballots nationwide and impose enhanced strict identification requirements on voters when they cast ballots and register.
’s Chris Stein has more here:
What was the vote count on the NDAA?
The House passed the National Defense Authorization Act in a 216-212 vote, with all but six Democrats opposing its passage and seven Republicans breaking ranks to oppose the measure.
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington
These are the Republicans that voted against it:
Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma.
“While I support providing for a robust national defense, I could not in good conscience vote for this legislation as it authorizes a $263.4bn (29.6%) increase over the authorized level for the previous fiscal year,” Brecheen .
The bill now goes to the Senate.
