The United States Senate, late Thursday, passed the $924.7 billion National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2026. The measure passed the Senate by a 70-20 vote.
Last month's version passed in the House of Representatives last month, with a lower bottom line.
The GOP-led chamber approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 70-20, aiming to fund the U.S. military at $924.7 billion in fiscal 2026. The vote came after lawmakers reached a deal earlier in the day to unlock the stalled legislation.
The bill’s passage allows the House and Senate armed services committees to begin the sometimes arduous conference process, during which lawmakers hammer out a compromise between each chambers’ version of the legislation. The House version of the NDAA, passed last month, has a much lower top line at nearly $893 billion.
A lot of President Trump's and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's ambitious plans for the United States armed forces will depend on this bill passing both the House and Senate. We should also note that this bill is moving, even through the ongoing government shutdown.
The NDAA had come to the Senate floor in early September but saw little movement until Thursday morning. Action on the bill was stalled, as all 100 senators must agree to hold votes on amendments, with several sticking points causing a handful of lawmakers to halt the process.
But Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) secured an agreement to vote on 17 stand-alone amendments and a package of nearly 50 less controversial amendments.
“We simply cannot delay this process any longer,” Wicker said on the Senate floor. “Let me make it clear: If we do not bring this to the floor today, this matter will not have time for deliberation on the Senate floor, and we’ll have to basically pretend that we’re having a conference between House and Senate members, and a very small group of senators will have to write this bill and bring it to the floor for final passage. That’s not the way this ought to be done.”It is belaboring the obvious to note that this national defense bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation in the works right now. The bill now includes amendments providing funding for countering drones. Not included were a proposed amendment by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), he of "margaritas with MS-13 gangsters" fame, to block President Trump from moving National Guard troops across state lines. Senator Ruben Gallego (D-ZAZ) also proposed a failed amendment to block any military funeral honors for J6 protester Ashli Babbitt.
Read More: JB Pritzker Picks the Wrong Fight With Pete Hegseth, Sec. of War Responds Accordingly
Watch: Schumer's Bizarre Rant About His Shutdown and Speaker Johnson's Constituents on Senate Floor
Then, there's this measure that didn't likewise make it into the final bill:
But amendments that failed to pass included one from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.) who had hoped to block money for President Trump to retrofit a luxury Qatari jet he accepted as an intended replacement for Air Force One.
Now that's just petty. But we've come to expect that from Senator Schumer.
As of this writing, the bill has not been scheduled for a House-Senate conference to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions. Stay tuned.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
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