House Approves Major Defense Bill Boosting Troop Pay, Funding Ukraine Aid

The House of Representatives passed a massive bipartisan $900 billion package on Wednesday to increase pay for troops, authorize defense infrastructure spending, and provide hundreds of millions in funding for Ukraine.

The 3,000-page National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed 312-112 with 197 Republicans and 115 Democrats voting in favor. House Republican leadership celebrated the legislation, saying that it was critical to advancing the Trump administration’s foreign policy goals. 

“With the NDAA, President Trump and Congressional Republicans are restoring American strength, defending our homeland, standing with our allies, and ensuring the United States remains the most powerful and capable military force the world has ever known,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said. 

House Republicans said that the bill would codify 15 of President Donald Trump’s executive orders, including removing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandates and initiatives from the military, declaring an emergency at the southern border, banning men from participating on women’s sports teams at military academies, and building a “Golden Dome” missile defense system.

“America is the world’s strongest country because of our military,” said Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX). “With FY26 NDAA, Congress sends a clear message: We are committed to protecting our homeland, keeping our troops safe, and preserving peace.”

The bill allocates $800 million in support to Ukraine the next two years, increases spending on shipbuilding, forces War Secretary Pete Hegseth to turn over footage of strikes on drug boats or face cuts to his travel budget, limits Hegseth’s authority to pull American troops out of Europe, repeals certain sanctions on Syria, increases troop pay by 3.8%, and repeals the authorizations of force for the 2003 Iraq War and the Persian Gulf War.

A ban on the Department of War funding transgender surgeries for troops did not make the final version of the legislation. 

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Eighteen Republicans, mostly members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, voted against the final passage of the bill. Some voiced concerns about the amount of spending and aid allocated to Ukraine and other foreign countries, while others believe not enough waste was cut. 

Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) said that he voted no because there was no provision included to ban a central bank digital currency. Self said he had been promised that language because a central bank digital currency would be an “ultimate tool for government surveillance and control over every American’s finances. It would hand the federal government unprecedented power to track, restrict, and even freeze transactions.”

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) took issue with the hundreds of millions allocated for Ukraine and said lawmakers did not have enough time to review the legislation. 

“Over 100 Democrats voted to pass this. That ought to tell you right there what this is about. Got some liberal stuff tucked in there, and it’s over 3,000 pages. We get it on Sunday, and they’re voting on it today. There’s no way we will ever know what was in there,” he said.

The bill will now head to the Senate.