House Approves Massive $895 Billion Defense Bill—Sparks Uproar Over Gender-Affirming Care Provision

A contentious clause on gender-affirming care sparked Democratic reaction and threatened to derail the must-pass bill’s chances in the House, but on Wednesday, the House adopted the huge $895 billion National Defense Authorization Act. The 1,800-page national security bill authorizing money for the Defense Department for fiscal year 2025 was approved by the House by a vote of 281 to 140. 81 Democrats joined 200 Republicans in favoring the bill’s approval, despite the fact that most Democrats opposed it. The legislation was rejected by just 16 Republicans. The Senate will now have to approve it.

The vote followed a weekend agreement by congressional leaders on the legislation, which often passes by broad bipartisan margins. Prior to Wednesday’s vote, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries admitted that the NDAA had “a lot of positive things” that were negotiated in a bipartisan way, but also some “troubling” aspects. Jeffries described the NDAA vote as a “member-to-member, case-by-case” decision, claiming that Democrats did not manipulate it. In the meanwhile, the legislation was praised by House Speaker Mike Johnson, who stated on Tuesday that it “includes critical wins for our troops and for our country at a very important time.”

Johnson mentioned better housing for military families and a 14.5% salary increase for junior service members. He also praised, among other things, increases in funding for Indo-Pacific defense projects and the growth of U.S. joint military exercises with Israel. “The safety and security of the American people is our top priority,” Johnson stated during a press conference, adding that he anticipated a “large” vote in support of the bill. “And this year’s NDAA ensures our military has the resources and the capabilities needed to remain the most powerful fighting force on the planet.”

The Louisiana Republican also praised the contentious clauses, such as the ban on funding for “critical race theory” instruction at military academies and the limitations on gender-affirming care for servicemembers’ children. He said that the bill “gutted the DEI bureaucracy” passed by House Republicans. Some prominent Democrats voiced their objection to the NDAA’s provisions, which jeopardized its chances in the House on Wednesday, particularly those pertaining to gender-affirming care.

In a statement following the release of the legislation’s text, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the leading Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, recognized several bipartisan successes in the final NDAA. He claimed that Democrats had been “successful in blocking many harmful provisions that attacked DEI programs, the LGBTQ community, and women’s access to reproductive health care.” However, he stated that the clause prohibiting care that is gender affirming is “wrong.”

The clause states that medical care “for the treatment of gender dysphoria that could result in sterilization may not be provided to a child under the age of 18.” This clause pertains to the military’s health care program. The clause, according to Smith, “injected a level of partisanship not traditionally seen in defense bills.” “In order to maintain his position as speaker, Speaker Johnson is caving in to the most radical factions within his party. He has disrupted a bipartisan process in the process,” Smith continued.

During last month’s leadership elections, House Republicans chose Johnson as their choice for speaker of the upcoming Congress. To keep the gavel, however, the Louisiana Republicans will still need to win over the majority of the chamber in the upcoming year. In recent years, Republicans have had challenges in speaker elections due to their razor-thin majority, and a faction on the party’s right has attempted to win concessions in exchange for their support.

In the run-up to the 2024 election, President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters used anti-trans language during the campaign. Since the first transgender person was elected to Congress, House Republicans have spearheaded a push to restrict the use of single-sex restrooms in the Capitol complex to those that match to individuals’ “biological sex.”