The House passed the 2027 NDAA on Wednesday by a 216 to 212 vote, keeping Section 219 in the bill and advancing the US Israel military merger fight into House-Senate conference talks. The provision would merge parts of the U.S. and Israeli military technology systems, even as lawmakers pressed to strip it out.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on Tuesday that the provision is an “existential threat to American sovereignty and democracy.” Ro Khanna said lawmakers will now fight Section 219 during conference negotiations, after House leaders left the Khanna and Thomas Massie amendment out of the amendments considered by the full House.
House Rules Committee and Section 219
Section 219 is also called the U.S.-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative. In practical terms, the measure would require cooperation on technology and intelligence with Israeli forces, tying together systems that lawmakers opposing the provision say should remain separate.
The House Rules Committee did not include the Khanna/Massie proposal to remove Section 219 in its list of proposed amendments this week. That omission blocked the amendment from reaching a floor vote, so the full House voted on the NDAA with Section 219 still inside the package.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ro Khanna
Ocasio-Cortez said the NDAA includes a provision to merge parts of the U.S. military with the Israeli military, and she urged lawmakers to vote no. Khanna, a representative from California, said, “It’s shocking that this even has to be explained. It’s about American sovereignty.” He added, “We do not even have the chance to vote in the House to stop Israel and the United States from co-producing weapons.”
Ilhan Omar said the provision is an “outrageous threat to our country’s security and autonomy.” Omar also said, “Americans want no part in Netanyahu’s genocidal regime. Congress cannot continue to bankroll Israel’s campaign of terror.” Those remarks sharpened the split inside the House as six Democrats voted yes and seven Republicans voted no on the NDAA.
House and Senate conference
The vote came after Democrats in the Senate opposed advancement of the 2027 NDAA last week, leaving the bill stalled there. Ro Khanna said the next fight is in the House and Senate conference, where lawmakers will reconcile the two chambers’ versions of the defense bill and decide whether Section 219 survives.
Benjamin Netanyahu has advocated for the measure, which has also drawn criticism alongside last week’s House vote to kill another Thomas Massie amendment that would have stripped a State Department funding bill of $3.3 billion in military assistance to Israel. The House and Senate conference now becomes the point where Section 219 could be removed, narrowed, or left in place before the final NDAA can move forward.
