Chaos erupts as House passes $1.15T defense bill with Israel provision: ‘Stop stoking Jew hatred’
The House passed the $1.15 trillion annual defense policy bill on Wednesday after a bipartisan uprising over a provision that expands U.S.-Israeli defense technology cooperation.
fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act The resolution passed 216-212; Republicans largely supported it, while Democrats mostly opposed it.
The annual bill, which sets Pentagon policy and usually receives broad bipartisan support, received just six Democratic votes because a bipartisan majority objected to Section 219 and Republican-backed changes that would restrict care for transgender people and make it easier to access personal weapons on military bases.
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Opposition came from a coalition of progressive Democrats and Republicans skeptical of U.S. support for Israel; They accused congressional leaders of shielding the provision from review after lawmakers rejected a separate vote to repeal it.
The conflict erupted as support for Israel weakened among House Democrats and some “America First” Republicans during the war in Gaza and the expanding conflict with Iran. Just a week ago, 103 Democrats joined Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., in voting to block $3.3 billion in U.S. aid to Israel.
For opponents, Section 219 would move the relationship in the opposite direction by incorporating U.S.-Israeli cooperation more deeply into the Pentagon’s weapons development and acquisition system. This provision would instruct the secretary of war to appoint a Pentagon “executive representative” who would coordinate and expedite bilateral defense research, testing, and industrial cooperation.
Critics have argued that the structure could make it harder for future administrations or Congresses to unravel the relationship and could shift parts of the partnership from highly visible aid votes to less visible technology, procurement and manufacturing arrangements. Supporters said it would coordinate long-running programs and give the United States faster access to Israeli defense technology.
The House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act.
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Representative Alexandria Ocasio-CortezDY called on lawmakers to reject the entire defense bill, arguing that the law would “merge parts of our military with the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
“This amendment is an existential threat to American sovereignty and democracy,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X before the vote, referring to Section 219. “Every member of Congress must vote NO.”
Rep. Mike Lawler, RY, fired back at
Massie similarly opposed both the debate codifying the rule and the final bill after Republican leaders rejected a floor vote on a bipartisan amendment to enact the provision.
“We should not combine our military technology and supply chain with Israel’s,” Massie said In X.
Beyond creating executive agency, Section 219 would direct the Pentagon to identify jointly developed or Israeli-origin technologies that could be used in U.S. weapons programs and to encourage joint ventures, licensing agreements, and U.S.-based manufacturing partnerships with Israeli companies.
Before final passage, the House passed two amendments from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla. One removed four uses of the word “integration,” while the other expanded the scope of annual reports to Congress for as long as the executive representative remains in office. The original reporting obligation was due to expire in 2030.
The changes left the initiative’s centralized structure and collaborative programs intact and failed to meet opponents’ demands for a complete repeal of Section 219.
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On September 30, 2024, a series of rockets were fired from Southern Lebanon to the city of Haifa in northern Israel. While the rockets were viewed from Haifa, Israel, some of the rockets were destroyed by the Israeli Iron Dome air defense system.
Massie’s amendment was supported by Democratic Reps. Ro Khanna of California, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, Jesús “Chuy” García of Illinois and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Section 219 would not unify the countries’ command structures, place U.S. troops under Israeli authority, or give Israel control over U.S. military operations. The United States and Israel also already cooperate extensively on defense technology, including the Iron Dome, Arrow, and David’s Sling missile defense systems, counter-drone technology, and anti-tunnel capabilities.
The key change to the clause would be the appointment of a Pentagon executive representative who would be tasked with coordinating and expanding these efforts across the War Department.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said the provision would increase oversight and efficiency by transferring responsibility for existing initiatives to a single official.
“It in no way gives away command and control of our military operations, personnel or equipment,” Rogers said in a statement last month.
Critics argued that the managing agent structure would give U.S.-Israeli projects a privileged path through the Pentagon and further entrench Israeli technology and companies into the American defense supply chain.
The conflict threatened the broad coalition traditionally needed to pass the NDAA, one of the few major bills that Congress routinely approves with bipartisan support. Democratic opposition has also been fueled by Republican changes restricting gender-affirming medical care for soldiers and military dependents and transgender participation in sports in Department of Defense schools.
The conflict threatened the broad coalition traditionally needed to pass the NDAA, one of the few major bills that Congress routinely approves with bipartisan support.
The House voted 219-208 Tuesday to ban Tricare from covering certain gender transition procedures and treatments; five Democrats supported the amendment while one Republican opposed it.
Lawmakers separately voted 221-203 to ban transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports at War Department schools.
The House rejected a separate effort by Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) to enact President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender soldiers from serving in the military. That amendment failed 217-212 after four Republicans joined every Democrat in opposition.
Lawmakers also narrowly approved an amendment making it easier for qualified military and civilian War Department employees to obtain carry permits. personal weapons on military installations. The measure passed 215-214.
The amendment, which would have largely banned security aid to Ukraine, failed, but 76 Republicans supported it. The proposal only provided for preserving funding for the security of the US Embassy in Kiev.
The baseline NDAA would authorize nearly $1.15 trillion for national defense, including pay increases ranging from 5 percent to 7 percent for service members, expanded weapons and munitions production, and new investments in missile defense, autonomous systems, hypersonics and other emerging technologies.
The bill would also formally change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, and references in federal law to the secretary of defense and his department would be deemed to mean the secretary and the Department of War.
The NDAA sets defense policy and authorizes spending levels but does not provide the money itself. Congress must separately pass a defense appropriations bill to fund the programs and priorities included in the measure.
Consideration of the legislation had been delayed for three weeks by a separate Republican fight over the SAVE America Act, the Trump-backed election bill that requires Republicans to have proof of citizenship to register to vote and proof of identification to vote in federal elections.
The House of Representatives approved the election measure in February, but it stalled in the Senate, where Republicans lack the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster.
Republican leaders revived the legislation through a procedure that instructs the House clerk to merge the package with the NDAA after passing it but before sending the package to the Senate. This approach allowed the House to vote on defense and election measures separately before forwarding them as a single bill.
The plan first collapsed on June 30, when 13 Republicans joined Democrats in voting against the procedural rule. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla. and other objections later softened Speaker Mike Johnson He promised to add the election bill to appropriations bills and other measures that need to be passed.
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The combination of the defense and election package faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where Democrats last week blocked consideration of their chamber’s NDAA in protest of the Trump administration’s war with Iran.
The debate also comes as the Pentagon is seeking additional money to cover the conflict and replenish US weapons stockpiles. The White House has requested an additional $87.6 billion package, including $67.1 billion for defense needs, while House Republicans are considering additional military and intelligence funding through a party-line compromise package.
Original article source: Chaos breaks out as the House passes Israel’s $1.15 trillion defense bill, which includes a “stop inciting Jew hatred” provision
