The vote tallies for the NDAA don’t fit the neat partisan narratives drawn up in November 2020 concerning reductions in defense spending.
House Democrats broke ranks with the Biden administration early Thursday morning, approving a defense policy bill that asks hard questions about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan while drastically increasing the Pentagon’s budget.
The shots Biden took over Afghanistan followed a bipartisan rebuke of his $715 billion Pentagon spending plan, which a broad majority of the panel voted to increase by $24 billion for a total of $740 billion. The move, driven by Republicans and moderate Democrats, will help make it easier for the defense bill to achieve a bipartisan vote on the House floor, but will almost certainly spur real opposition from Democrats' left flank.
"What we saw in Afghanistan last month was devastating. The decisions that President Biden has made … were disastrous,” ranking Armed Services Republican Mike Rogers said. “I fear America is less safe because of them. These self-inflicted wounds have made our job even more important and difficult.” A similar measure from Rogers would require the Pentagon to submit plans to lawmakers outlining how it will assist in the evacuation of U.S. citizens, and also
While most of the proposals were focused tightly on the final months of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Armed Services Chair Adam Smith warned lawmakers against targeting only the Biden administration and argued that Congress should take a broader look at the longest U.S. conflict.
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