Senate Democrats Block $1T Annual Defense Bill

Senate Democrats blocked a $1 trillion annual defense bill Tuesday, refusing to advance the bipartisan package that would substantially increase Pentagon spending, including a pay raise for the troops, in protest of President Trump's war against Iran. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer announced his opposition and other key Democrats said they could not support the annual bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, as the war drags into a fifth month with no clear endgame in sight.

• The tally was 50-46, failing largely along party lines to reach the threshold needed, the AP reports. Four senators did not vote: Republican Sens. Jim Justice and Mitch McConnell, and Democratic Sens. John Fetterman and Alex Padilla, reports Politico.

• "The NDAA cannot become a permission slip for that recklessness that we see occurring in Iran," Schumer said ahead of voting. "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 that Congress look the other way."
• The Senate vote comes a day after the White House formally notified Congress that it had resumed bombing strikes against Iran, effectively undoing the fragile ceasefire in the conflict that has resulted in economic disruptions, including volatile gas prices ahead of the midterm elections.
• Congress has tried repeatedly to slap guardrails on the administration, voting more than 10 times on various war powers resolutions that would halt hostilities. But those efforts have not succeeded, and most Republicans in the House and Senate majorities back Trump.
• Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the defense package a good bill and implored his colleagues to provide the resources to ensure the US is kept safe. "We have an obligation here in Congress to ensure that they have everything they need for whatever the mission may be," he said. After the bill failed to advance, Thune switched his vote in a procedural move that will allow the leader to bring it back up for consideration again later. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker called the Democratic vote to block the bill "unprecedented" and a "new low," per the Hill.

• For decades, Congress had made sure to approve the annual defense bill each year, setting the policy and direction for the department and authorizing the funds that would later be allocated to carry out its investments in systems, supplies, and missions.
• This year, the 66th annual NDAA is running into a double-whammy of opposition. Lawmakers are fuming over Trump's military action against Iran and resisting the White House request to substantially increase Pentagon spending to $1.5 trillion, up from about $900 billion last year. The sizable boost of funds aligns with the White House's 2027 budget request as the Trump administration seeks a generational investment to modernize the Defense Department, which it refers to as the Department of War under Secretary Pete Hegseth.
• Hegseth was scheduled to meet later Tuesday evening with House Republicans as Congress considers providing additional money through a separate budget reconciliation bill the party can pass on its own, overpowering the opposition from Democrats. The White House has requested $350 billion from Congress under the budget reconciliation process, but House GOP leaders have indicated it is likely to be a much smaller amount, more in line with $87 billion the White House requested last month as supplemental funding for Iran.
• The extra defense funding comes on top of the additional $150 billion Republicans already provided the Pentagon last year under Trump's big tax breaks bill that some say has not been spent or fully accounted for.