Senate Democrats blocked a National Defense Authorization Act vote after objecting to the Iran war dispute tied to the defense bill. The procedural step stalled a package that would fund the Pentagon and military, and Republicans said the bill still needed an amendment process.
Chuck Schumer On Senate Floor
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans wanted the upper chamber to take up the bill “as though none of this is happening.” He said the president is waging an unauthorized war and defying bipartisan majorities in Congress.
Schumer also said, “The NDAA cannot become a permission slip for that recklessness that we see occurring in Iran.” His comments put the Iran dispute at the center of the vote before the chamber moved to the procedural hurdle.
Tim Kaine And $1.15 Trillion
Tim Kaine said the Iran war issue was “one of the major issues about the NDAA, but it's not the only issue.” He said the bill authorized $1.15 trillion, and he raised the question of where the money would come from for what he called a dramatic top-line increase.
“The absence of knowing where this money is coming from to do this dramatic top-line increase? That still has to get resolved,” Kaine said. He also said voting no was a rare move.
Senate Armed Services Committee Vote
The resistance had already shown up during the Senate Armed Services Committee vote to advance the legislation, when nine out of 13 Democrats on the panel voted against it. That earlier split signaled that the bill faced resistance before it reached the floor.
Jim Banks said, “It's very disappointing,” and added, “It's about supporting our troops, supporting our military, and it's disappointing when Democrats play games with that,” after the vote. Republicans said taking the first step on the bill would allow for an amendment process to modify it.
The next step now turns on whether Republicans can use that amendment process to change the bill enough to bring more Democrats back. The open issue is what guardrails or funding changes would be enough to move the National Defense Authorization Act forward.
