Hard Right Presses Culture War Fights on Defense Bill, Imperiling Passage
New York TimesJul 07, 2023
The Facts
The US House passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Friday, setting the Defense Department’s policy while pushing through several conservative amendments on abortion, diversity programs, and transgender procedures.
The 219-210 vote largely broke along party lines, with four Republicans voting “nay” and four Democrats voting in favor of the bill.
The Spin
Republican narrative
House Republicans stood strong and made sure to pass amendments to the 2024 NDAA that will fight back against the Biden admin.’s radical social policy that's infecting the nation's military. It's common sense that taxpayers shouldn't be paying for service members’ abortions and that sex-change operations shouldn't be promoted in the military.
Democratic narrative
Republicans are using a mandatory defense bill to push their culture war agenda and are hurting the military in the process. The House has passed defense authorization bills for decades on a bipartisan basis without injecting social policy into the discussion. This bill excludes marginalized groups and hurts America’s diverse service members.
