House Passes Defense Bill With Controversial GOP Amendments

The House passed a defense spending bill mostly along party lines on Friday after Republicans added amendments rolling back Defense Department policies on diversity, abortion access, and more. 

The Details: In a 219-210 vote, four Democrats joined most Republicans in backing the bill, and four Republicans joined most Democrats in opposition. The core of the $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would give servicemembers a 5.2% pay raise. 

The Controversy: The Republican amendments, added by the party’s more conservative members Thursday evening, would prohibit the Defense Department from paying for or reimbursing abortion services; eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; ban military schools from having “pornographic and radical gender ideology books” in their libraries; and bar military healthcare from covering hormone treatments and surgeries for transgender individuals. 

Key Quotes: While House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) praised the bill as evidence that “Republicans continue to keep our promises,” Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said Republicans had “weaponized” and “hijacked” a “bipartisan bill.”

How the Media Covered It: Coverage from the right was less likely to note the bill’s likelihood of failure in the Senate; The Hill (Center bias), on the other hand, called it “dead on arrival.” Coverage from the right also often used the word “woke” to describe policies opposed by House conservatives. Coverage from the left was likelier to label the amendments as “divisive.”