USA14 July, 20263 min read
Senate Democrats Block $1 Trillion Defense Bill in Protest of Trump’s War Against Iran
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Senate Democrats blocked advancing the National Defense Authorization Act in protest of Trump's Iran war. The package would substantially boost Pentagon spending and include troops' pay raise.
NDAA blocked over Iran
Senate Democrats blocked a $1 trillion annual defense bill on Tuesday, refusing to advance the National Defense Authorization Act in protest of President Donald Trump’s war against Iran as the conflict dragged into a fifth month. The Senate vote ended 50-46, failing to reach the threshold needed, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the NDAA could not become “a permission slip for that recklessness that we see occurring in Iran.” The White House formally notified Congress that it had resumed bombing strikes against Iran the day before, effectively undoing a fragile ceasefire in the U.S.-Israel led conflict, according to the AP report.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the defense package a good bill and said, “We have an obligation here in Congress to ensure that they have everything they need for whatever the mission may be,” after the bill failed to advance and he switched his vote in a procedural move to bring it back later. The AP account also said the 66th annual NDAA was running into opposition as lawmakers resisted a White House request to substantially increase Pentagon spending to $1.5 trillion, up from about $900 billion last year, while the measure’s policy priorities for the Pentagon are typically approved each year.
Schumer vs Thune
Schumer framed the vote as a refusal to let Congress proceed while the war continues, telling the Senate ahead of voting that “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 Guardian similarly reported that Schumer said his party could not support advancing the NDAA “as long as the fighting continues,” and noted that all Democrats in attendance voted against the measure to deny it the 60 votes needed for advancement. The Washington Examiner described the same 50-46 vote as Republicans attempting to begin debate on the NDAA but being blocked by Democrats who called the bill a “permission slip” for the Iran conflict.
In the AP account, Thune urged colleagues to provide resources to keep the U.S. safe and, after the bill failed to advance, switched his vote in a procedural move that would allow him to bring it back up for consideration again later. The Guardian added that Trump had earlier threatened to impose a 20% “security” fee on vessels transiting the strait of Hormuz but backed down on Tuesday while vowing to continue the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.
What’s at stake next
The AP report said 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 as most Republicans in the House and Senate majorities back Trump.
It also said the Senate bill would block the secretary’s travel funds unless he provides reports the senators requested, including on a deadly Iran school strike at the start of the war, while Democrats pushed for further limits in line with a war powers resolution that would force the cessation of military actions.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said she would oppose the bill unless it included her amendment to end the war, adding, “Simply throwing more money at an out-of-control military operation is not strategy. It’s a recipe for a forever war.”
The Guardian reported that Republicans were incensed at the blockade of the NDAA, which it said would authorize $1.15tn in defense spending for the upcoming fiscal year and include pay increases for service members plus funds for new unmanned weapons and counter-drone technology.
In a separate framing, Bloomberg Government News said Senate Democrats blocked the US Senate from considering the annual defense policy bill over the war with Iran and the measure’s $1.15 trillion price tag, describing the procedural move as requiring 60 votes to advance.