US House of Representatives approves $900 bn defence bill that tests Trump’s agenda and Congress’s oversight

US House of Representatives approves $900 bn defence bill that tests Trump’s agenda and Congress’s oversight

The US House of Representatives has passed a $900 billion defence policy bill that locks in many of President Donald Trump’s national security priorities while also drawing new lines of restraint on the administration’s most controversial military decisions. The wide bipartisan vote of 312 to 112 reflects Congress’s willingness to fund the Pentagon at historically high levels even as frustration grows over transparency, troop movements and the administration’s maritime strikes abroad, the New York Times reported.

At the heart of the legislation is a 3.8 percent pay raise for American service members and a wide set of policy directives that touch nearly every part of the military. The bill is expected to pass the Senate easily, after which it will go to President Trump for his signature.

While the measure folds in several items central to Trump’s defence vision, including a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the Pentagon, it also challenges parts of his agenda. Hard-right Republicans had threatened to block the bill, arguing that provisions dealing with Ukraine and Europe betrayed the president’s “America First” rhetoric. Their resistance ultimately failed, allowing House leaders to move ahead with the compromise package agreed with the Senate.

One of the most striking sections requires the Pentagon to give Congress unedited video footage and command orders from the series of boat strikes carried out in international waters since September. These attacks, which the administration says are aimed at narco-traffickers, have killed at least 87 people and sparked bipartisan concern about how decisions are being made. Lawmakers say Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not provided sufficient transparency. To enforce compliance, the bill withholds 25 percent of Hegseth’s travel budget if the Pentagon refuses to turn over the material.

The legislation also pushes back on Trump’s plan to reduce the long-standing US military presence in Europe. It bars the Pentagon from reducing American troop levels on the continent below 76,000 for more than 45 days unless the Department of Defense certifies to Congress that such a move serves national security interests and comes after consultation with NATO allies. The measure directly challenges recent Pentagon statements indicating planned drawdowns in Germany, Poland and Romania, which had already caught lawmakers off guard.

On Ukraine, the bill authorizes USD 400 million annually in security assistance for Kyiv over the next two years. While modest compared with previous military aid packages, it still prompted protests from several Republicans, including Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who argued that the United States should not be funding “foreign wars” when domestic needs remain pressing.

For many Democrats, the bill is as much about restoring congressional authority as it is about funding the military. Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said the legislation represents an effort to push back against what lawmakers see as a lack of transparency and accountability under Trump and Hegseth.

The bill also contains long-debated foreign policy changes. It repeals outdated authorizations for the use of military force dating back to the Iraq and Persian Gulf conflicts, which presidents from both parties have relied upon to carry out operations without fresh approval from Congress. It also rolls back sanctions on construction, energy and financial sectors in Syria, a step that lawmakers argue is needed to help rebuild after years of civil war.

Negotiators stripped out several conservative social policy provisions previously added by House Republicans, including a ban on Pentagon coverage for gender-affirming surgeries. Speaker Mike Johnson, however, intervened again to block coverage of in vitro fertilization for troops and their families, a proposal Democrats had pushed to include.

Other last-minute additions alarmed members of both parties. Aviation safety advocates questioned a section allowing military aircraft to switch off advanced tracking technology when flying through parts of Washington airspace. Senators Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell said the provision could reduce transparency and threaten civilian air safety.

Another clause expanding federal and local powers to intercept or disable drones raised concerns from Democrats who warned that without tighter guardrails, it could lead to civil liberties violations.