Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked an effort to begin debate on the annual defense policy bill, raising fresh doubts about whether Congress can quickly resolve fights over the Iran war and military spending.
The Senate voted 50-46 along party lines to proceed to the National Defense Authorization Act, falling short of the 60 votes needed to advance. The failed vote leaves one of Congress’ most reliable annual bills stalled.
Filibustering the must-pass bill reflects intense Democratic opposition to President Donald Trump’s wars. Even national security-minded Democrats, who typically support annual defense bills, balked at providing what they view as a blank check for a conflict Congress never approved.
The NDAA authorizes military pay, weapons programs and Pentagon policy. Congress has enacted it every year for more than six decades, usually with broad bipartisan support. Democrats, especially those from states that host military installations and defense industry jobs, typically vote in favor of the bill — but some believe the politics have shifted.
Trending
“People are really frustrated and angry about the Iran war, and the NDAA has become a referendum on the war because Trump has refused to come to us as he’s required to do,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), whose state hosts submarine and military helicopter construction facilities, told NOTUS.
Virginia hosts a major Navy and defense industry presence, and one of its senators, Democrat Tim Kaine, said he’d never voted against an NDAA — yet he and most Senate Armed Services Committee Democrats objected to the bill. Kaine is also a staunch advocate for Congress’ power to declare — and end — wars.
“We will not take up an NDAA that does not include some significant discussion about a war that Congress has now declared is illegal,” Kaine said. “Both houses, under Republican majority, have said this war is illegal, and so I don’t see us, just now, turning a blind eye to that with respect to the NDAA.”
Tuesday’s vote isn’t the end for the bill. The NDAA typically passes later in the year, giving Senate leaders enough time to try again after negotiating an agreement on which amendments receive floor votes or making other concessions to win Democratic votes. The looming August recess means there’s a narrow legislative runway to get the bill done, raising the chances that lawmakers would have to finish it in the weeks before the November midterms or after, in the lame-duck session.
Democrats had several objections, the renewed Iran war being chief among them. The U.S. resumed major strikes after the collapse of a ceasefire over the weekend, renewing Democratic concerns about the Trump administration’s strategy, the cost of the operation and Congress’ limited role in shaping it.
“The Senate cannot authorize $1.14 trillion in defense spending — the largest defense budget ever proposed in our nation’s history — for Donald Trump to continue his illegal and disastrous war that Americans do not want,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois), a combat veteran, said in a statement.
“This is going to be viewed as an authorization for the war,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut), adding that it would be “insane” to allow a war that’s “spiraling out of control” to continue.
The defense topline is another flashpoint.
Through several pieces of legislation, Trump is seeking $1.5 trillion — a sharp increase over current levels — in military spending for fiscal year 2027. Democrats have argued that the increase is difficult to justify while the administration is proposing deep cuts to domestic programs.
“I voted against it in committee because the topline on this thing is just ridiculous,” said Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona).
Some Republicans were livid that they had drafted a bill with Democrats and offered a manager’s package of preapproved amendments they hoped would appeal to Democrats, to no avail. They accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of pursuing a broader political agenda.
“It’s unprecedented not to proceed to a bill, particularly when we’re negotiating managers’ packages including dozens and dozens of bipartisan amendments,” Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) told NOTUS. Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska, the panel’s No. 2 Republican, accused Schumer of fomenting a government shutdown ahead of the November midterms.
“It’s sad because we are a committee on Armed Services that used to work in a bipartisan way so we could take care of our military and be able to defend this country, and they’re putting that in jeopardy,” she said.
But Schumer has accused Republicans of failing to forge an agreement with Democrats to balance defense and nondefense spending.
“There is nothing normal about putting forward a lopsided proposal that shuts down bipartisan input and jams through one-sided bills that shortchange families, prolong a war, and shield corruption,” Schumer wrote in a letter to his caucus.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) said Democratic obstruction pushes Republicans toward a party-line reconciliation bill that skirts the filibuster to boost defense.
“That’s one of the outcomes,” Cramer said. “That’s what often happens when people overplay their hand.”
When there has been a Senate impasse in past years, lawmakers have reconciled a House-passed version of the annual bill with the version passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee. Congress typically takes up a compromise bill before the end of the calendar year.
The path forward this week will likely depend on whether Republicans agree to enough amendment votes to bring Democrats back on board.
The failed vote is an even more troubling sign for Trump’s nearly $88 billion emergency funding request, which is tied more directly to the war and would also need Democratic support to clear the Senate.
Authors
