Senate Democrats weren’t as divided over the National Defense Authorization Act as House Democrats were.
The Senate moved forward with the defense bill with overwhelming support despite the inclusion of a Republican provision prohibiting “treatment of gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization” for minors. The Senate passed the bill through its major procedural hurdle in an 83-12 vote, with a final vote on the NDAA possible as soon as Tuesday.
“It’s unfortunate that it’s in there,” Sen. Ben Cardin said of the provision for trans youth. “I very much opposed that, but it’s hard because we don’t want to bring down a whole bill. This is important for military families.”
Last week, the House passed the bill with the majority of Democrats voting against it, in large part because of the provision banning gender-affirming care for trans youth under TRICARE.
Trending
But Democrats have ultimately thrown in the towel on fighting against the controversial provision. In the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries did not whip against the bill, instead telling his colleagues to vote in a “member-to-member, case-by-case” fashion. Eighty-one House Democrats supported the final language.
In the Senate, a majority of Democrats voted for the bill. Most agreed that while they didn’t like the provision on trans minors’ access to health care, they continued to support the final bill.
“To throw those things in at the very end that I think is a disservice to the process,” Sen. Angus King told NOTUS. “Having said that, I still intend to support the bill because I think, overall, it’s so important to national security.”
Last week, Sen. Tim Kaine called it a necessary vote, saying that, at the end of the day, “we need a defense bill.” Kaine told NOTUS that while it wasn’t perfect, the bill from Monday night’s vote was better than how negotiations started.
“There was a similar provision in the Senate bill that I voted against in committee,” he said. “Not everything in the bill is exactly to my liking. The provision that did get in was a good bit narrower than some of the other ones we kicked out.”
Top voices from the Armed Services committees in both chambers of Congress weren’t made aware of the added provision until the bill text was made public. Ultimately, Senate Democrats threw their support behind it.
“We put a lot of work into it. It’s a good piece of legislation,” Sen. Jack Reed, the chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee, said. “There are always some controversial elements. Different people have different views, but I think people understand it’s essential that we passed the bill.”
Republicans applauded this year’s NDAA as a win. Parts of the final bill include other more partisan touchpoints. The bill prohibits funding for the service academies or Department of Defense schools to teach critical race theory. It continues a ban on hiring for positions in the Pentagon related to diversity, equity and inclusion. It also stops the sale of products from military bases that are boycotting the Israel conflict.
Several more partisan provisions, including more sweeping prohibitions on health care for transgender troops, were removed in negotiations. Both sides of the aisle said that the negotiations between the two chambers had “watered down” provisions. Democrats have touted the defense bill’s 14% pay raise for junior military personnel, as well as funding for military modernization efforts.
All of the $895 billion in allowed spending in the bill will now form the basis for the Defense Appropriations panel, where Sen. Mitch McConnell is headed after stepping down as Senate minority leader.
—
John T. Seward is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
Author
