Senate Passes $895B Defense Bill, With Some Grudging Dems Holding Out Over

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On Thursday afternoon, the United State Senate voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), after the House passed the bill last week, 281 to 140. But its passage in the Upper Chamber wasn’t without some grudging pushback from progressive Dems… thanks to a well-timed, transgender poison pill that GOP House leadership added:

Senators voted 85 to 14 in favor of passing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), well more than the 60 needed in the 100-member upper chamber. The bill advanced even with the insertion of a controversial measure that would ban some gender-affirming care for transgender children of service members.

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The must-pass legislation typically passes with widespread bipartisan support, but that changed after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) inserted some last-minute language in the bill that would restrict the use of funds from TRICARE — the health care program for active-duty service members — for gender-affirming care for the children 18 years and younger of military members.

Those Dems leading the charge, to try and press their Senate colleague to ditch the language on Monday, were Sens. Tammy Baldwin (WI), Elizabeth Warren (MA), and Ed Markey (MA). In the end, they only managed to amass 20 senators for their failed amendment effort.

Baldwin stated on the Senate floor before Wednesday’s vote that the measure was a sign lawmakers were “gutting the rights of our servicemembers”:

It has been broken because some Republicans decided that gutting the rights of our service members to score cheap political points was more worthy.

The NDAA heads next to President Biden’s desk for his signature.

Like my colleague Sister Toldjah wrote in a piece late Tuesday evening, it’s fruitful to remember that the Republicans will hold the reins in the Senate, the House, and the White House in short order. It’s more than likely that we’ll see continued, strong action along these lines in the weeks and months to come.