Key Highlights
- A stipulation calls for the withholding of part of the travel budget of Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, unless the Pentagon releases to Congress the full, unedited video of a widely scrutinized strike in September which killed survivors of an earlier strike. The bill also authorizes $400m for each of the next two years for weapons support to Ukraine. US House passes bill to bolster Europe’s defence, in apparent rebuke to Trump’s foreign policy strategyRead moreThe White House has signaled support for the legislation, although Donald Trump dodged questions about unreleased boat strike footage on Wednesday and has recently compared Ukraine’s leader with a salesman who has scammed the United States into spending billions of dollars to defend his country against the Russian invasion. The annual National Defense Authorization Act typically gains bipartisan backing, and the White House has said the must-pass legislationis in line with Trump’s national security agenda. Overall, the bill calls for a 3.8% pay raise for many military members as well as housing and facility improvements on military bases.
- It also strikes a compromise between the political parties – cutting climate and diversity efforts in line with Trump’s agenda, while also boosting congressional oversight of the Pentagon and repealing several old war authorizations. The legislation includes a provision that would cut Hegseth’s travel budget by a quarter until the Pentagon provides Congress with unedited video of the strikes against alleged drug boats near Venezuela.
- Lawmakers are asserting their oversight role after a September strike where the US military fired on two survivors who were holding on to a boat that had partially been destroyed. The bill also demands that Hegseth allow Congress to review the orders for the strikes. Trump’s ongoing support for Ukraine and other allies in Europe has been under doubt over the last year, but lawmakers included several positions meant to keep up US support for countering Russian aggression in the region. The defense bill requires the Pentagon to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment stationed in Europe unless Nato allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in US interests.
- Around 80,000 to 100,000 US troops are usually present on European soil.
- It also authorizes $400m for each of the next two years to manufacture weapons to be sent to Ukraine. Additionally, there is a provision to keep US troops stationed in South Korea, setting the minimum requirement at 28,500. Lawmakers overseeing the military said the bill would change how the Pentagon buys weapons, with an emphasis on speed after years of delay by the defense industry. The legislation next heads to the Senate, where leaders are working to pass the bill before lawmakers depart Washington for a holiday break. Several senators on both sides of the aisle have criticized the bill for not doing enough to restrict military flights over Washington.
