On Wednesday, the Senate’s $886 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was approved by a bipartisan 87-13 vote. Even the opposition was bipartisan, including 6 Democrats, independent Bernie Sanders, and six Republicans. The expectation is that the bill will pass the House on Thursday and go to the White House for President Biden’s signature.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, who crafted the compromise and supported the bill, complained that it only represented three percent of GDP, arguing that to “effectively prepare for and counter the threats that the United States faces from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and other adversaries…defense spending should be closer to 4 or 5 percent of GDP.” So, we’ve identified one area where Republicans love government spending.
In July, when Kevin McCarthy was still the Speaker, the House passed (219-210) its own version of the NDAA, but it wasn’t easy. In fact, without the support of four at-risk Democrats, Reps. Jared Golden of Maine, Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico, Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez of Washington and Don Davis of North Carolina, it would have passed by a single vote.
The House version never had a snowball’s chance in hell of becoming law because to gain support for it from the hard right of his caucus, McCarthy had to include non-starter elements for the Democrat-run Senate and White House. This all happened through the amendment process after a bipartisan bill was produced by the House Armed Services Committee.
“Extreme MAGA Republicans have chosen to hijack the historically bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act to continue attacking reproductive freedom and jamming their right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic whip Katherine Clark and caucus chair Pete Aguilar said in a statement. “House Republicans have turned what should be a meaningful investment in our men and women in uniform into an extreme and reckless legislative joyride.”
Approved amendments included a prohibition on the Defense Department “paying or reimbursing expenses related to abortion services” or providing “healthcare coverage for sex reassignment surgeries and hormone treatments for transgender service members.” The Pentagon’s offices of diversity, equity and inclusion was eliminated. And there was this:
A proposal from GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado barring a Defense Department agency that operates its schools from buying books that contain “pornographic material” or espouse “radical gender ideology” will also be attached to the defense policy bill.
None of that is included in the NDAA that passed the Senate on Wednesday. Here is what remains of the hard right’s “anti-woke” legislation:
The compromise NDAA does prohibit “the display of any unapproved flags, such as the LGBTQ Pride flag at military installations,” according to a summary of the bill released by the Republican leadership of the House Armed Services Committee. And it “reiterates” that no Defense Department money is to be spent on drag shows or other events involving drag queens, the summary says.
The bill also caps base pay for Defense Department employeeswhose positions are primarily related to initiatives aimed at fostering diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workforce.
It’s a crying shame that military drag shows are now banned. As the Military Times detailed in July, drag shows have a rich tradition with our armed forces.
The U.S. military has a rather lengthy history when it comes to drag shows, particularly during World War II, when cross dress events were not only sanctioned by the Army, but celebrated as a boon for morale. Because the armed forces were officially segregated by sex until 1948, there was little choice for any service member theater production but to employ men as women.
“From Broadway to Guadalcanal, on the backs of trucks, makeshift platforms, and elegant theater stages, American GIs did put on all-male shows for each other that almost always featured female impersonation routines,” writes author Allan Bérubé.
A now famous production known as “This is the Army” included all manner of soldiers in various costumes. In this production, cross dressing was not only encouraged by the military but actually became a nationwide sensation. Though it was originally a Broadway musical intended to fundraise for the troops, it was eventually turned into a movie that starred an actor named Ronald Reagan, who would one day be president of the United States.
But the moral scolds in the GOP can take the fun out of anything, including serving overseas in the military. On the whole, however, the hard right shot themselves in the foot.
…House Republicans’ gamble, [a Republican Senate aide] said, rendered that chamber’s NDAA a piece of legislation that “they knew … wouldn’t be able to pass the Senate,” giving significant negotiating leverage to the Democrats as both sides hashed out the final bill.
The House Armed Services Committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), “had the most leverage,” the Republican Senate aide said. “Why? Because a subgroup of House Republicans signaled pretty early on: ‘We’re a hell no on everything.’”
Republicans had to fight “tooth and nail” even to retain a provision, initially proposed by the Biden administration, allowing the Defense Department to assist the Department of Homeland Security on the U.S.-Mexico border, the aide said.
So, what wound up happening is that McCarthy passed an NDAA to the Republican troglodytes’ liking and his successor Mike Johnson will pass Chuck Schumer’s NDAA. Predictable hilarity has already ensued:
House Freedom Caucus members are slamming Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) handling of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), likening him to former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a list of internal talking points obtained by Axios.
The memo calls this year’s NDAA “an utter disaster for House Republicans and a massive unforced error from leadership,” arguing it was a deal struck behind closed doors…
The Free-dumb caucus doesn’t understand that you have to agree to actually vote for something in order to take part in negotiations over must-pass legislation like the annual National Defense Authorization Act. And now they’re blaming their new Speaker, comparing him unfavorably to arch-enemy John Boehner.
Enjoy the laughs. Watching these folks flair and fail is one of only pleasures still available to us in the political arena.
