On December 10, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping $900 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, setting the stage for a host of policy shifts that ripple far beyond the Pentagon’s walls. The annual defense bill, which now heads to the Senate for likely approval, is packed with provisions that touch on military pay, foreign policy, tribal recognition, and hot-button social issues—making it one of the most closely watched NDAAs in recent years.
At its core, the NDAA authorizes a 3.8% pay raise for U.S. service members, a move that draws praise from military families and lawmakers alike. According to The New York Times, the bill also earmarks substantial funding to improve housing, education, and childcare access for military families, with Miami’s service members specifically highlighted as beneficiaries. The legislation’s sheer scale—authorizing $900 billion—underscores the U.S. commitment to maintaining a robust defense posture at a time of global uncertainty.
But this year’s NDAA is about more than dollars and cents. It’s a battleground for competing priorities, with lawmakers from both parties fighting to include—or exclude—provisions that reflect their values and the interests of their constituents. As Focus on the Family’s Daily Citizen reported, the House passed the NDAA in a 312-112 vote, with 94 Democrats and 18 Republicans opposed. The bill’s passage was marked by a rare blend of bipartisan support and sharp ideological clashes, especially over issues like reproductive rights, diversity programs, and tribal recognition.
One of the most notable inclusions is a set of provisions introduced by Rep. María Elvira Salazar (FL-27). Earlier this year, Salazar put forward H.R. 5246, a bill designed to codify the authorities of the State Department’s Political Affairs Bureaus. With the NDAA’s passage, these authorities are now formally recognized for the first time, bolstering the State Department’s reach in the Western Hemisphere, Europe, Eurasia, Africa, and East Asia and the Pacific. The bill also creates an Office of Haitian Affairs, appoints new Ambassadors-at-Large for the Indian Ocean and Arctic regions, and establishes a new unit to counter the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Salazar, who led the charge to include these provisions, expressed gratitude after the House vote. “I’m thankful that these critical State Department authorities to strengthen the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, combat Chinese and Russian influence, and appoint new Ambassadors to strategic regions, such as the Arctic, were included in our National Defense Policy,” she said, according to her official press release. “We are finally prioritizing our Hemisphere, and security in other strategic regions across the globe, which will help us fight tyranny across the world.”
The NDAA also codifies all or parts of 15 executive orders issued by President Trump, as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson noted. These include directives aimed at restoring America’s fighting force, ending Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs, declaring a national emergency at the southern border, and modernizing defense acquisitions. Conservative lawmakers hailed these changes as “major victories,” arguing that they end “wokeness” in the Department of War, secure the border, and revitalize the defense industrial base by growing manufacturing jobs and onshoring critical supply chains. The bill also adds new tools to encourage allied nations to shoulder more of their own defense costs.
Not all priorities made it through the legislative gauntlet. A provision to cover the cost of in vitro fertilization (IVF) for service members and their families was removed during final negotiations. Speaker Johnson intervened to kill the measure, citing concerns it would lead to the destruction of embryos. Kristi Hamrick, vice president of media and policy for Students for Life of America, applauded the move, stating, “IVF is not an industry that deserves blanket support and funding. We can do better.” Lila Rose, president of Live Action, also thanked Johnson for “ensuring TRICARE was not used to subsidize this destruction of life.”
Democrats, however, had pushed for the IVF provision, arguing it would support military families facing infertility. The removal of the measure is likely to remain a point of contention as the NDAA moves to the Senate, reflecting broader debates over reproductive rights and federal funding.
Another hot-button issue addressed in the NDAA is the prohibition of biological males from participating in women’s sports at U.S. military academies. While an earlier version of the bill also sought to ban Pentagon coverage of transgender surgeries for troops, that provision was stripped out in final negotiations. Nevertheless, the Pentagon had already ceased funding transgender medical interventions for soldiers earlier in the year following a Trump executive order.
On the foreign policy front, the NDAA blocks the Pentagon from reducing the number of U.S. troops permanently stationed or deployed in Europe below 76,000 for more than 45 days—a clear signal of America’s continued commitment to NATO allies amid ongoing tensions with Russia. The bill also authorizes $400 million annually in security assistance for Ukraine, reinforcing bipartisan support for Kyiv as the war with Russia grinds on.
Significantly, the NDAA delivers long-sought federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina—a move celebrated as historic by tribal leaders but criticized by some other Native groups. The Lumbee, a state-recognized tribe with about 60,000 members, have been seeking full federal recognition for decades. Tribal Chairman John Lowery praised President Trump and House leadership for prioritizing their recognition, stating, “I want to thank President Trump and his White House Team for ensuring that our bill stayed a priority during the NDAA negotiations.”
Federal recognition will grant the Lumbee access to resources like the Indian Health Service and the ability to take land into trust. The Congressional Budget Office estimated in 2022 that recognition would cost over $360 million, with about 44,000 tribe members living in a service area covered by Indian Health Service. However, the decision was not without controversy. Michell Hicks, chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, argued, “A national defense bill is not the appropriate place to consider federal recognition, particularly for a group that has not met the historical and legal standards required of sovereign tribal nations.”
Other provisions sought by Indian Country did not make it into the final bill. Notably, efforts to create a Truth and Healing Commission to investigate the legacy of Indian boarding schools and to authorize land preservation for the Wounded Knee Massacre Memorial were omitted. Ben Barnes, chief of the Shawnee Tribe, expressed disappointment, telling ICT, “Survivors have waited long enough for truth, justice and reconciliation. How disappointing it is for elderly survivors and their descendants to learn that they will have to wait longer if this Congress can’t come together and pass a bill that it seemingly has no opposition to.”
Despite these omissions, the NDAA includes several smaller measures benefiting tribal communities, such as funding for Tribal Colleges and Universities, the establishment of a special advisor in the Coast Guard for tribal and Native Hawaiian issues, and provisions for tribal fisheries and environmental cleanup consultations.
As the NDAA heads to the Senate, where it is expected to pass with bipartisan support, all eyes are on President Trump, who is anticipated to sign the bill into law before the year’s end. The legislation’s wide-ranging impacts—from military pay and foreign policy to tribal recognition and social policy—ensure it will remain a focal point of debate and analysis well into 2026.
With so many interests at play, the 2026 NDAA stands as a testament to the complexities of American governance, where compromise, advocacy, and political calculation shape the laws that guide the nation’s defense and its values.
