CNN
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House GOP leaders face a legislative landmine over a massive defense bill as right-wing lawmakers push for a series of amendments that could put moderate Republicans in a difficult position and threaten Democratic support for the bill to pass.
Lawmakers are seeking amendment votes this week on a wide range of contentious issues, from abortion to transgender rights and diversity programs at the Pentagon, and are even privately warning that they could sink the defense in the first procedural vote if they do. they don’t get their way.
The measure has put the spotlight back on House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he tries to navigate unyielding demands from members of his far right while pushing legislation that many of his most vulnerable members are eager to push at home his If he panders to the whims of House Libertarian hardliners, he could win over more far-right Republicans, but he could jeopardize the support of Democrats and moderate Republicans, who will be essential to getting the bill through. of law pass in the chamber.
However, the votes could even put the White House in a bind, as a bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing to stop President Joe Biden’s decision to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine.
Although the House Armed Services Committee sent its bill to the floor on a bipartisan vote, the top Democrat on that panel warned that its support would be in jeopardy if the final bill includes some d ‘these controversial amendments, especially around abortion.
“The committee did a good job of putting forward a bipartisan bill,” Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the committee’s top Democrat, told CNN. “But I’m concerned that full House Republicans won’t do that, that they’re going to push this bill too far in an extreme anti-inclusion direction that makes it difficult to support it.”
The House Rules Committee will meet Tuesday afternoon to decide which of the more than 1,500 proposed amendments will actually be made into order, and Republican leaders hope to pass the final bill later this week.
But even the House Rules Committee has become a wild card for the National Defense Authorization Act. Republicans can only afford to lose two votes on the committee on a party-line vote, and McCarthy placed three far-right members on the panel in exchange for becoming chairman. At least one of the panel’s conservative lawmakers, Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, told CNN he plans to oppose the rule, citing concerns that the bill doesn’t go far enough to target “woke” policies. of the Pentagon and will not. get the amendment votes to change it.
GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, one of the other far-right members of the panel, said in a statement to CNN: “While this NDAA makes some improvements, there are still glaring problems at DOD that need to be addressed in order to receive my support” when asked how he plans to vote on the rule.
“The transformation of the Department of Defense into a social engineering experiment wrapped in a uniform is the greatest threat to this nation’s ability to defend itself, and Republicans are complicit,” Roy added. “Year after year, Republicans pass an NDAA that spreads cultural rot at DOD while massive defense contractors get richer.”
Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, the other conservative on the committee, did not return a request for comment on how he plans to vote, though a Republican source said they are not that worried about Massie breaking ranks.
While drama is not new in fights over the NDAA, which has been passed by Congress every year for the past six decades, this level of acrimony is a bit of a departure for what is typically a bipartisan issue. After taking heat over the debt ceiling deal, McCarthy is under increasing pressure to cater to his right wing, raising concerns about lawmakers’ ability to reach a compromise that both chambers can agree on.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who represents a swing district and has long pressured her Republican colleagues to soften their stance on abortion, told CNN: “I don’t foresee the NDAA not passing , but the GOP has a chance to show that it can be compassionate and pro-women, and I hope they don’t drop the ball.”
In addition to the amendments aimed at culture war issues, Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, Republican, who sit on the Armed Services Committee, also plan to offer an amendment aimed at stopping the transfer of cluster munitions from President Joe Biden. in Ukraine If it reaches the floor, the vote would reveal how much support Biden’s measure has in the House.
“Cluster munitions are unpredictable weapons that maim and kill indiscriminately, wreaking havoc on civilian populations and undermining reconstruction and economic recovery for decades,” Jacobs told CNN. “This amendment sends a strong message to the world that we will uphold our values and our commitment to protecting civilians.”
Gaetz voiced a similar refrain on Twitter.
“These cluster bombs will not end the war in Ukraine and will not build a more stable country. Children will be left without limbs and fatherless because of this decision if we do not work together in a bipartisan way to stop it,” he said. Gaetz tweeted on Monday.
And while the version of the NDAA that came out of the Armed Services Committee included more funding for the war in Ukraine, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and others are pushing to restore that funding.
The NDAA, which outlines the policy agenda for the Defense Department and the U.S. military and authorizes spending in line with Pentagon priorities, emerged from the House Armed Services Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support, though some controversial GOP amendments, including the ban. Shows were adopted of dragging to military bases and re-enlisting troops who refused to comply with the Pentagon’s vaccination mandate.
Some of the amendments that will be featured this week include banning Gaetz from gender transition surgeries and treatments, eliminating any diversity, equity and inclusion office within the armed forces and the Department of Defense from a series of members, including Norman, and prohibiting the Department of Defense from “purchasing and possessing pornographic books and radical gender ideology in its libraries” by Republican Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado.
While a handful of Republicans don’t think those amendments go far enough, others warned their colleagues not to jeopardize the future of this crucial legislation, as the $858 billion defense package has measures that modernize the US military, increase its readiness to counter foreign adversaries such as Russia. and China, and increase support for service members and their families.
“We have to pass the NDAA. … It’s not something to ever put at risk and national security has to be a priority for each and every one of us. If we don’t have world peace, we don’t have anything,” he told CNN Rep. Jen Kiggans, a freshman Republican from a Virginia swing district. “And we do it by contributing the budget that the army needs. … Therefore, it is a responsibility”.
Republican Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who sits on the Armed Services Committee and represents a district that Biden won in 2020, told CNN: “I hope that smart, common sense amendments will be passed.”
“The committee passed a bill almost unanimously with only one dissenting vote, and it will take bipartisanship to get it through the Senate as well,” Bacon told CNN.
Although the NDAA’s labeling process touched on important hot-button issues, committee members ultimately came together to approve a package that a majority could support.
Reflecting on the marking process, a GOP staffer told CNN, “People were pushing for DoD funds to be used to support war fighters to wake up.”
These clashes, however, have only seemed to foreshadow the ground flights to come.
“I think in committee we tried to put together a bipartisan bill that could pass the Senate and I hope that’s what everybody will try and do on the floor as well,” Jacobs told CNN. “But I think we’re already seeing extreme Republicans trying to put some poison pills in there that will make it very difficult for Democrats to vote on the bill.”
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California, who told CNN he was “proud” to be the only member to vote against the NDAA in committee because he needed to see “more investment” in the Pacific region, denounced amendments that “harm diversity and diversity.” inclusion, education and doing nothing to strengthen our national security.”
“I voted no when it comes to the session and encourage my colleagues to do the same,” Khanna added.
One Democratic aide claimed, “Republicans are trying to hijack NDAA to turn it into a culture war battle.”
