The mammoth National Defense Authorization Act is expected to be the blueprint for President Trump’s national security plan.
By Catholics for Catholics
The House approved a labyrinthine, $900 billion defense bill that could methodize President Trump’s national security plan—the spending also includes funds for Israel and Ukraine.
The 312-112 vote on the over 3,000-page legislation, which provides for a 3.8% pay increase to U.S. troops, reflected bipartisan support for what is often regarded as a must-pass bill.
The defense bill is expected to reshape U.S. economic and military competition with China by imposing new investment restrictions, banning a slew of Chinese-made technologies from Pentagon supply chains, and enlarging diplomatic and intelligence efforts to track Beijing’s global footprint.
According to Fox News, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes several Israel-related stipulations, including a mandate for the Pentagon to eschew taking part in international defense exhibitions that bar Israeli involvement. It authorizes monies for Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow – the missile defense programs the U.S. operates with Israel.
NEW: US House passes $900 billion defense bill which includes $800 million in military foreign aid to Ukraine and upwards of $650 million to Israel.
— Dominic Michael Tripi (@DMichaelTripi) December 11, 2025
In addition, the legislation reauthorizes the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative at $400 million per year for fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Congress will also demand more recurrent reporting on allied contributions to Ukraine to track how European partners aid Kyiv.
The comprehensive bill also commands biennial reports comparing China’s global diplomatic authority to that of the United States. The Pentagon is separately directed to strengthen U.S. posture in the Indo-Pacific by extending the Pacific Deterrence Initiative and expanding cooperative training and industrial-base initiatives with regional allies, including Taiwan and the Philippines.
The NDAA program also extends Pentagon aid to law enforcement maneuvers at the southwest border and strengthens U.S. posture in the Indo-Pacific, including funding for Taiwan’s security cooperation program.
In a triumph for conservative privacy hawks like House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the legislation includes a non-defense stipulation that would mandate FBI disclosure when the bureau was investigating presidential candidates and other candidates for federal office.
That measure was the motive of party in-fracas last week when Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., whom Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had appointed chairwoman of House GOP leadership, publicly accused the speaker of ingratiating to Democrats and permitting that provision to be eliminated.
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