Senate advances $925B 2026 defense bill
The Senate advanced its FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act on Thursday after weeks of delay, moving a roughly $925 billion defense policy package through the chamber amid Day 9 of the government shutdown. Lawmakers adopted an amendment by Sen. Tim Kaine repealing the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs, while bids by Sens. Chuck Schumer and Chris Van Hollen to restrict a Boeing 747 retrofit and cross‑state National Guard deployments failed; Sen. Ruben Gallego lifted a hold tied to an amendment on military funeral honors for Ashli Babbitt. With the Senate not set to return until Tuesday, leaders warned service members likely won’t receive paychecks next week as the shutdown continues; the House passed its own NDAA last month.
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📌 Key Facts
- Senate advanced the FY2026 NDAA authorizing about $925 billion in defense spending
- Kaine amendment repealing the 1991 Gulf War and 2002 Iraq AUMFs adopted
- Schumer amendment to block funding to retrofit a Qatar‑gifted Boeing 747 failed; Van Hollen amendment to curb out‑of‑state Guard deployments also failed
- Sen. Ruben Gallego dropped a hold tied to an amendment on Ashli Babbitt’s military funeral honors
- Shutdown Day 9: Senate out until Tuesday; service members expected to miss next week’s pay
- House passed its version of the NDAA last month