The House of Representatives passed the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which funds the Pentagon, by a 312-112 vote. The $901 billion legislation, which 94 Democrats and 18 Republicans opposed, now heads to the Senate. “Once again, Congress faces a stark choice: America First, or Ukraine first? Lawmakers are rushing to authorize even more Ukraine funding. Buried in the NDAA is a quiet reauthorization of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative—$800M in the next two years,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) commented. “Taxpayer money sent overseas with barely any debate. America deserves leaders who put our interests first,” he added. Once again, Congress faces a stark choice: America First, or Ukraine first? Lawmakers are rushing to authorize even more Ukraine funding. Buried in the NDAA is a quiet reauthorization of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative—$800M in the next two years. Taxpayer money sent… — Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) December 10, 2025 The Hill shared further: The NDAA, a traditionally bipartisan bill that lays out defense priorities for the next year, would increase pay for service members, provide some military aid to Ukraine, restrict U.S. investment in China and fully repeal sanctions on Syria, among other things. It also contained a provision to withhold a portion of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget until he turns over unedited footage of U.S. military strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and copies of the orders behind the operations. While the final vote wasn’t close, the legislation’s passage wasn’t without some drama. The bill had barely cleared a key procedural vote just hours earlier. House leadership held the vote open for more than an hour as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) persuaded Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) to flip their “no” votes to yes. They said they did so after receiving assurances from GOP leadership and administration officials. Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.) was the only Republican to vote “no” on the rule. “This week we vote on the National Defense Authorization Act. I offered these amendments to restore freedom, promote peace, cut billions of dollars in foreign aid, and put America First. @SpeakerJohnson and the Rules Committee chose to prevent any amendments from coming to a vote,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) said. This week we vote on the National Defense Authorization Act. I offered these amendments to restore freedom, promote peace, cut billions of dollars in foreign aid, and put America First. @SpeakerJohnson and the Rules Committee chose to prevent any amendments from coming to a vote. pic.twitter.com/7rFVBLT1hw — Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 10, 2025 A closer look: “This week we are voting on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that funds our military and it’s, once again, filled with American’s hard earned tax dollars used to fund foreign aid and foreign country’s wars. These American People are $38 Trillion in debt, suffering from an affordability crisis, on the verge of a healthcare crisis, and credit card debt is at an all time high,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said. “Funding foreign aid and foreign wars is America Last and is beyond excuse anymore. I would love to fund our military but refuse to support foreign aid and foreign militaries and foreign wars. I am here and will be voting NO,” she continued. This week we are voting on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that funds our military and it’s, once again, filled with American’s hard earned tax dollars used to fund foreign aid and foreign country’s wars. These American People are $38 Trillion in debt, suffering… pic.twitter.com/Rgbcrvy7aY — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) December 8, 2025 More from The Center Square: The roughly $901 billion compromise legislation, which now heads to the Senate, is $8 billion more than the White House requested, but $24 billion less than the Senate’s version of the bill. “This is a strong bipartisan bill that delivers for our warfighters and deters our adversaries,” House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers, R-Ala., told lawmakers. “It will build the ready, capable, and lethal fighting force we need to deter China and our other adversaries. And it will deliver on President Trump’s Peace Through Strength Agenda.” Among other provisions, the mammoth NDAA authorizes $38 billion for aircraft, $34 billion for nuclear defense, $26 billion for shipbuilding, $25 billion for munitions and $900 million to combat drug trafficking. A significant portion, $142 billion, goes toward research and development of new military technologies, including biotechnology, hypersonic weapons and artificial intelligence. Military members also receive a 3.8% pay raise, and $1.4 billion is set aside for the construction of barracks and family housing. Hundreds of millions are allocated for new childcare centers and schools, and $577 million will go toward renovating military hospitals and building new medical facilities.