(Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com) Congress has released its 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and is preparing to pass the sweeping spending bill, which will give President Trump a total military budget of over $1 trillion.
Earlier this year, a supplemental for an additional $156 billion was included in the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” most of which will go toward the 2026 military budget and be added to the $901 billion NDAA unveiled by Congress, bringing total military spending well over $1 trillion.
The supplemental was factored into the White House’s 2026 military budget request, and Congress actually added $8 billion more than President Trump requested in the NDAA.
Over the weekend, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth signaled that the budget could get even bigger. “We received a historic boost in funding last year, and believe that is only just the beginning,” he said at the Reagan National Defense Forum, according to Defense One.
“We need a revived defense industrial base. We need those capabilities. We need them yesterday. And so, resource-wise, I think this room will be encouraged by what we’ll see soon — but I don’t want to get too ahead,” Hegseth added.
POLITICO reported on Monday that House Speaker Mike Johnson is planning to hold a vote on the NDAA on Wednesday afternoon. Once passed by the House, it will head to the Senate, then to President Trump’s desk.
At least one House Republican will vote against the NDAA, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), who objected to the foreign aid included in the bill. “Funding foreign aid and foreign wars is America Last and is beyond excuse anymore,” she wrote on X. “I would love to fund our military, but refuse to support foreign aid and foreign militaries and foreign wars. I am here and will be voting NO.”
Notable amendments in the NDAA include a measure to block troop drawdowns from South Korea and Europe, as Russia hawks in both parties are unhappy with President Trump’s recent decision to pull some troops out of Romania, and a provision to protect Israel from global arms restrictions it may face due to its destruction campaign in Gaza.
The mammoth bill also includes an amendment to lift the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria, which were imposed in 2020 and designed to prevent the reconstruction of the country until former President Bashar al-Assad was ousted, which happened one year ago today. The Trump administration and Congress have embraced the new Syrian government and its leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, despite his history as a senior al-Qaeda commander.
This article originally appeared at Antiwar.com.
