The Senate voted on Wednesday to pass the $895 billion Defense Authorization Bill, despite a provision on transgender care that caused concern among some Democrats, sending it to President Biden’s desk for final approval.
“Today, for the 64th consecutive year, the Senate passes a bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act to protect the American people and strengthen our security,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a floor speech ahead of the vote. “The NDAA is not perfect, but it still makes several important advances Democrats fought for to secure America’s national defense and take a strong stand against the Chinese Communist Party.”
The measure, which establishes Defense Department policy and priorities for the year, passed the House last week 281-140.
The must-pass legislation, which usually receives broad bipartisan support, faced opposition this time after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) added last-minute language restricting the use of TRICARE funds — the health care program for active-duty service members — for gender-affirming care for children 18 and under of military members.
This change prompted a handful of Democrats to vote against the bill, including Sens. Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), and Ed Markey (Mass.).
But the fact that a transgender provision was included in a defense bill in the first place reinforces President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of former Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the department. Hegseth has repeatedly said that transgenderism has no place in the U.S. military because gender-affirming care is ongoing and essentially makes trans troops non-deployable.
Also, both Trump and Hegseth have said they want the Pentagon and the various U.S. military academies laser-focused on lethality and winning the nation’s wars, not cultural and social issues that distract from producing such a force, especially as global threats from China and other nations grow.
The National Defense
