The annual Pentagon policy bill is back on track after a House panel advanced a slew of hot-button amendments, signaling that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struck a deal with hardline conservatives.
The House Rules Committee worked into the wee hours of Thursday morning to hammer out a final round of amendments for the National Defense Authorization Act that sets up a vote on the House floor.
Of the more than 1,200 amendments left to parse through, the House panel advanced 80. In all, 70 are from GOP members, four from Democrats, and the rest are bipartisan.
Most of the 80 amendments were drafted by the House Freedom Caucus, with some threatening to divide the Republican conference and guaranteeing a showdown with the Democrat-run Senate.
The amendments include ending the Pentagon’s policy of paying transportation for service members to get out-of-state abortions, halting defense money going toward transgender-related medical services, and gutting equity, diversion and inclusivity training in the military.
The advance of the hot-button measures suggested that Mr. McCarthy, California Republican, relented to the small band of hardliners who hold sway because of the Republicans’ narrow five-seat majority in the chamber.
Mr. McCarthy’s move to give the ultra-conservative faction what they want is expected to sour some Democrats from voting in favor of the must-pass NDAA, which was once a bipartisan affair but has grown increasingly partisan in recent years.
Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Rules Committee, accused the House Freedom Caucus of “extorting” Mr. McCarthy to push their priorities.
The House could vote as early as Thursday on the amendments.
One of the most contentious amendments headed for a floor vote is Texas GOP Rep. Ronny Jackson’s legislation to halt the Pentagon from reimbursing military service members that travel for an abortion.
There is also an amendment by Rep. Matt Rosendale, Montana Republican, that would prevent military benefits from paying for gender reassignment surgeries and the ensuing hormone therapy proposed by
Efforts to stop money from going to Ukraine were included, too. An amendment by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene would slash $300 million in funding to the country. Ms. Greene, Georgia Republican, said that further funding for Ukraine would lead to more warfighting.
The House panel also advanced an amendment that would prevent the Biden administration from sending cluster bomb munitions to Ukraine, but not the bipartisan add-on that had support from Rep. Sara Jacobs, California Democrat, and Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida Republican. Another measure to only ban cluster bombs for Ukraine that was authored by Ms. Greene and cosponsored by Mr. Gaetz did advance to the House floor.
The new batch of add-ons follows 289 less inflammatory amendments that the committee advanced on Wednesday.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washigtontimes.com.
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