Seven Most Controversial Amendments in Republicans' NDAA Bill

The U.S. House voted on a near party-line 219-210 vote to adopt a sweeping national defense bill Friday that will be significant to the United States' ability to modernize its military at a critical time for U.S. foreign policy amid an ongoing war in Ukraine and growing pressure from countries like China.

However, the bill they adopted—an initial version of which passed on a party-line vote Thursday evening—might be too toxic for the Senate, rife with controversial amendments that will likely set the stage for another prolonged battle between House Republicans and the Democratically controlled White House.

In addition to provisions defining the Pentagon's budget for personnel and equipment, conservative hardliners in the House Republican conference managed to insert several controversial amendments into the must-pass spending bill.

While those provisions cost them Democratic support, it also represented a dropping of the gauntlet for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy after some believed he conceded too much ground to the White House in a recent deal to raise the federal debt ceiling.

It also tested the unity of the Republican caucus: prior to the vote, some figures—like South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace—criticized amendments they ultimately voted for, with Mace overheard by reporters for Politico telling staff a provision banning the Pentagon from reimbursing servicemembers for abortions was an "a****** amendment."

McCarthy, meanwhile, remains torn between placating his far-right members and passing a bill that will get through.

Confidence in him was already shaken over his leadership on the debt ceiling deal and, ahead of the vote, some far-right members of his caucus pledged to leverage their votes to sink the bill unless he agreed to adopt their amendments.

However, it has already been acknowledged by both sides that few amendments—if any—will ultimately be adopted by the Democratic-controlled Senate, likely setting the stage for another showdown between McCarthy and the White House.

Newsweek has reached out to McCarthy's office for comment. However, in a statement to CNN's Manu Raju, McCarthy told the network that members "actually have a voice with what the bill will look like at the very end," and that the initial amendments adopted by the House "doesn't predetermine what will be in the bill."

Other amendments added to the bill include:

• Bans on the Pentagon paying for gender-affirming surgeries and hormone treatment.
• The elimination of certain Department of Defense diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
• Provisions blocking the Department of Defense from using educational and training materials promoting critical race theory.
• Salary restrictions for personnel involved in promoting the military's diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
• Bans on "unapproved" flags, including Pride flags.

Other language in the bill would require studies on the impacts of the COVID-19 vaccine on military personnel and require that all documents and correspondence related to the DOD's Countering Extremism Working Group are provided to the Republican-led Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government and the Committee on Armed Services.

That amendment, brought by Weaponization Select Committee member Harriet Hageman, comes amid an ongoing spat between conservatives and the DOD over the Pentagon's efforts to counter recent incidents of military veterans engaging in paramilitary or extremist activity.

Not all conservative-led amendments passed, however. One amendment proposing to exempt the Department of Defense from provisions of the Endangered Species Act failed, as did language proposing to cut hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid to Ukraine.

The White House, meanwhile, has already condemned numerous facets of the NDAA, saying several of the conservative provisions—particularly the ones involving the military's diversity and equity efforts—will likely be non-starters for their negotiating team once the two parties sit down at the bargaining table.

"The Administration strongly opposes the House's sweeping attempts...to eliminate the Department's longstanding DEIA efforts and related initiatives to promote a cohesive and inclusive force," a White House policy memo released Monday said.