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Senate Democrats have officially blocked the annual defense policy bill over Trump’s ongoing war with Iran, which is continuing without congressional authorization.
Some shit you should know before you dig in: The National Defense Authorization Act is one of the few bills Congress reliably passes every year, and it has for 65 straight years, setting Pentagon policy and authorizing funding for everything from weapons systems to troop pay. This year’s version would authorize $1.15 trillion, the first installment of Trump’s massive $1.5 trillion budget request, including a 3.6% pay raise for troops, investments in drone and other autonomous technology, and significant funds for shipbuilding. The context making this year different: the war with Iran is now in its fifth month with no end in sight, the White House just formally notified Congress that bombing has resumed after the ceasefire collapsed, and Congress has voted more than 10 times on war powers resolutions trying to halt hostilities, all of which failed.
What’s going on now: In a 50-46 vote Tuesday, the motion to open debate came nowhere near the 60 votes needed, with every Democrat present voting no. Even the four Armed Services Committee Democrats who supported the bill in markup, including ranking member Jack Reed, flipped to opposition. Majority Leader John Thune switched his vote to “no” in a procedural move preserving his ability to bring it back later, and four senators sat the vote out entirely: John Fetterman and Alex Padilla on the Democratic side, Jim Justice and Mitch McConnell on the Republican side.
In a statement, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “The NDAA cannot become a permission slip for that recklessness that we see occurring in Iran.” “Donald Trump does not get to drag the American people deeper into a war he cannot explain and does not know how to end, and then demand Congress look the other way.”
A group of Democrats including Chris Van Hollen, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren also objected to under-the-radar provisions deepening US military and intelligence integration with Israel, including a “data fusion” arrangement Human Rights Watch warned could see the US absorb intelligence from Israeli mass surveillance programs.
Republicans are furious. Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker called the blockade “unprecedented” and “a new low,” while Thune said, “I certainly hope that Democrats won’t now put politics ahead of support for our men and women in uniform.” Senator Mike Rounds put the burden on Democrats to name their price: “I hope that they have thought through what the offer would be to get back on the NDAA, and that it’s a reasonable offer. But we haven’t heard what they want.”
