The Senate on Thursday night approved its version of the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), moving the $914 billion measure into conference with the House and setting up clashes over spending levels and national security policy.
The bill passed 77–20 after weeks of delay, following an agreement to debate 17 stand-alone amendments and adopt a manager’s package of 48 bipartisan provisions. The vote capped a day of rapid-fire consideration, described by Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) as essential to preserving “regular order” and preventing the legislation from being written solely in closed-door conference.
(Foreign Investment Guardrails to Help Thwart China)
Among the most consequential provisions are measures linking defense policy to U.S. trade security and technology controls. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) advanced language expanding federal scrutiny of U.S. investments in sensitive technologies in China, reviving an issue that has repeatedly surfaced in prior NDAAs but stalled over committee jurisdiction disputes. Supporters argue the measure closes a loophole by extending export-control logic to outbound capital flows.
Separately, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) secured a bipartisan amendment granting the Pentagon expanded authority to counter drone incursions over military installations. Lawmakers cited hundreds of drone sightings near sensitive facilities as evidence of vulnerabilities.
The Senate version also retains language from the GAIN AI Act, requiring U.S. chipmakers to prioritize domestic customers before selling advanced semiconductors abroad, tightening controls on exports that underpin artificial intelligence development.
Democratic amendments seeking to restrict National Guard deployments without state approval and to block President Trump from repurposing a Qatari-donated Boeing 747 as Air Force One were defeated. A bipartisan substitute amendment, however, repealed the long-standing authorizations for use of military force in Iraq.
With the NDAA now headed to conference, negotiators must reconcile the Senate’s $914 billion topline—$32 billion above the Trump administration’s request—with the House version, which holds to $882.6 billion. While the NDAA does not directly appropriate funds, its topline will influence broader spending battles.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here