U.S. Senate Pushes $900B Defense Bill to Trump's Desk

The U.S. Senate has approved the 2026 fiscal defense bill that costs over $900 billion on a vote of 77-20.

The National Defense Authorization Act is an annual bill that funds the Pentagon and the U.S. Department of Defense.

The US House approved the measure last week, meaning this bill now moves to the desk of President Donald Trump.

The spending bill aims to codify 15 executive orders issued by President Donald Trump, according to a 30-page summary. The bill is over 3,000 pages long.

The bill, if signed into law, will authorize about $900 billion in defense spending, including a 3.8 percent pay raise for service members for the next fiscal year.

The Senate votes 77-20 to pass the national defense authorization act, or NDAA, increasing the annual U.S. military budget to $900 billion.

This now goes to Trump's desk to become law, having already passed the House.

These are the 20 senators who voted NO: pic.twitter.com/WucMQui5O2
— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) December 17, 2025

Senate today passed bipartisan legislation by unanimous consent to rescind a provision in the 2026 NDAA defense bill, now headed for President Trump, which would relax current rules for military aircraft flying around Ronald Reagan National Airport following the January midair… pic.twitter.com/ufMCt2vo1N
— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) December 17, 2025

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-AR, welcomed the bill's passage.

Today, the Senate passed the IAA and sent it to President Trump’s desk. This bipartisan bill enacts much-needed reforms and ensures that our nation’s intelligence community has the resources they need to keep our country safe from adversaries like Iran and Communist China.…
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) December 17, 2025

"The FY26 IAA will enact many of these reforms, which will mean a more efficient intelligence community and a safer United States. This law also includes many other important provisions to ensure and enhance our nation’s security. These include prohibiting the intelligence community from contracting with Chinese military companies, improving the security of CIA installations, identifying the threat to America’s food security posed by Communist China, and directing necessary resources towards defending our nation from threats posed by Iran. I’m glad this bill passed both houses of Congress as part of the NDAA and I look forward to it being signed into law by the President,” Cotton said in a statement.

Cotton said that the Intelligence Authorization Act will:

Reform the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the broader Intelligence Community;
Prohibit the Intelligence Community from contracting with Chinese military companies engaged in biotechnology research, development, or manufacturing;
Improve the Intelligence Community’s artificial intelligence capabilities and establish guidance for the procurement and use of artificial intelligence;
Increase transparency to Congress regarding Iran’s enrichment activities, including decisions to weaponize uranium;
Improve the security of Central Intelligence Agency installations;
Expose the People’s Republic of China’s investments that are undermining America’s agricultural security.
Mandate an annual Intelligence Community survey of analytic objectivity among each element’s officers and employees, and ensure that analytic training includes instructions on avoiding political bias;
Mandate Intelligence Community notifications and reporting to ensure greater congressional oversight of the terrorist watchlist or the transnational organized crime watchlist;
Require the Director of National Intelligence to enhance efforts to counter narcotics trafficking with the Government of Mexico; and
Promote transparency by requiring the Director of National Intelligence to conduct a declassification review and publish intelligence relating to the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year's NDAA ushers in the most significant acquisition reform in decades and helps the U.S. deter increasingly hostile nations. This legislation also recognizes Mississippi’s outstanding contributions to national defense. The American people voted for peace through… pic.twitter.com/Jgih7gkBHy
— Senator Roger Wicker (@SenatorWicker) December 17, 2025

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