Congress
Senate strikes deal to vote on defense bill, breaking impasse
The Senate broke a monthlong impasse on its annual defense policy bill and secured a deal that could see the legislation pass as soon as Thursday.
Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) locked in an agreement on the floor to vote on 17 amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act, a substantial package of less controversial changes and passage of the bill itself “at a time to be determined” by party leaders.
Why it matters: The deal salvages passage of the defense bill, a legislative effort senators in both parties were concerned might have been abandoned without a breakthrough this week. Ahead of the deal, Wicker and Majority Leader John Thune had predicted votes could come as early as Thursday if Democrats agreed.
“We’ve got about 18 amendment votes that we could start today and finish today,” Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters.
The details: The roster that will receive votes includes 17 standalone amendments, plus a manager’s package of nearly 50 less controversial changes from both parties.
The list includes several Democratic priorities, including votes on National Guard deployments and roles in assisting law enforcement. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also gets a vote on his proposal to block funding for President Donald Trump to retrofit a gifted Qatari jet for use as Air Force One. And Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) will get a vote on his proposal to repeal the 2002 Iraq War authorization.
The agreement requires a 60-vote majority to adopt any amendments and to pass the overall bill.
Deadline drama: Senators in both parties largely acknowledged that this week is make-or-break for efforts to pass the NDAA on the floor.
Leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services panels aim to negotiate a compromise defense bill by Thanksgiving. If a vote didn’t happen this week, many senators expected the chamber to abandon the effort and head straight to negotiations with the House, which passed its own bill in September.
“If we do not bring this to the floor today, this matter will not have time for deliberation on the Senate floor,” Wicker warned on the Senate floor.
Background: The NDAA came to the Senate floor in early September, but has seen little action since then.
Democrats and Republicans have traded offers for amendments, but have been unable to break the logjam. All 100 senators must agree to quickly hold votes on amendments, meaning any single senator can’t throw up a roadblock and stall the process.
One hurdle was resolved recently when Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) dropped a push for a vote on his amendment to label Ashli Babbitt — an Air Force veteran who was shot and killed by police while attempting to enter a restricted area adjacent the House chamber during the Jan. 6 insurrection — ineligible for military funeral honors after the Air Force announced in August it will provide them.
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he wants to clinch a bipartisan Department of Homeland Security funding agreement Thursday.
“I think the Dems are now in possession of what I think is our last and final” offer, Thune told reporters. “So let’s hope this gets it done.”
“We’re going to know soon,” he added.
The South Dakota Republican declined to discuss details of the offer but suggested it was similar to where the discussions were headed over the weekend. GOP senators then were looking at a bipartisan deal that would fund most of DHS but leave out funding for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.
That offer was rejected by Democrats. But two people granted anonymity to discuss the revised proposal said it, too, omitted only ERO money but included additional language to try to address some of Democrats’ concerns.
Spokespeople for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Senate is expected to vote again on the House-passed DHS bill Thursday afternoon. The House is also voting again on DHS funding Thursday and is planning to leave town Friday morning for a two-week holiday recess. Progress in the Senate could prompt House GOP leaders to stay in session in hopes of sending a bill to President Donald Trump.
Asked about the Senate vote, Thune said he hoped there would be “some finality in this real soon.”
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins joined the House Problem Solvers Caucus lunch Thursday to talk about the stalled Homeland Security funding effort and proposals to overhaul federal immigration enforcement activities.
“I think everyone is pretty frustrated at this point,” the Maine Republican said in an interview after the bipartisan meeting.
The centrist group, which extended the invitation to Collins, talked through the pain points on finding a path out of the DHS shutdown that has stretched more than 40 days and is triggering massive air travel disruptions. The conversation comes ahead of a House vote later Thursday on funding DHS, where moderates are looking to break the impasse.
Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney and Riley Rogerson contributed to this report.
As House Republicans start to dream big about another party-line bill, one key member who voted down the last GOP reconciliation bill is warning his colleagues not to count on his support.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) referenced his vote last summer against the “big, beautiful bill” in an interview Thursday and suggested he was prepared to oppose another GOP-only bill if it, too, includes spending cuts he opposes to social programs.
“You saw what I did on the first reconciliation bill,” Fitzpatrick said. Fitzpatrick and just one more House Republican could be enough to tank a party-line package given Speaker Mike Johnson’s slim majority.
Still, many of Fitzpatrick’s colleagues are making plans for an expansive new GOP-only bill that would include more money for Homeland Security operations, Iran war funding and other cost-of-living priorities, while demanding it be fully offset with spending cuts — possibly from social programs targeted for “fraud prevention.”
“You never say ‘never’ at anything, but I’m never a fan of single-party bills,” Fitzpatrick said. “That’s just my approach to government.”
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