House passes $901B NDAA; FBI candidate-notice, border troop authority included
The House passed the roughly $901 billion FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act, 312–112, sending the bill to the Senate; it authorizes a roughly 3.8–4% military pay raise, codifies Trump-era authorities for active-duty troops at the U.S.–Mexico border, tightens restrictions on China (including outbound investment screening and tech bans), and includes policy changes on DEI, service‑academy athletics and other domestic provisions. The package also mandates FBI notification to top congressional leaders within 15 days when a counterintelligence probe targets a federal candidate (with specified recipients and exceptions), adds oversight riders such as withholding 25% of certain Pentagon travel funds until unedited Caribbean strike footage is produced, and contains a provision granting federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe.
📌 Key Facts
- The House passed the FY2026 NDAA authorizing about $901 billion on Dec. 10, 2025 (312–112); the package now moves to the Senate, which advanced it on a 76–20 procedural vote and scheduled amendment and final‑passage votes.
- The final bill includes an FBI‑notification mandate: the FBI must notify Congress within 15 days after opening a counterintelligence assessment or investigation into a presidential or other federal candidate or current elected official; notifications go to the top four congressional leaders and the top Republican and Democrat on the House and Senate Judiciary and Intelligence committees, with an exception if a recipient is the target.
- Lawmakers added a provision to withhold 25% of the Secretary of Defense’s travel funds until the Pentagon provides unedited footage of Sept. 2 Caribbean maritime strikes; bipartisan support in the Senate pushed for release of the full video.
- The NDAA contains multiple China‑focused measures: tech export bans, an outbound investment‑screening regime targeting U.S. capital flows into Chinese sectors tied to military power, prohibitions on using U.S. funds to buy from blacklisted Chinese biotech firms, and expanded U.S. support for Taiwan.
- The package embeds major Pentagon and social‑policy changes: it codifies roughly 15 Trump executive orders (including authorizing active‑duty troop use at the U.S.–Mexico border), prohibits DEI programs at the Department of Defense, includes language barring transgender women from women’s athletics at service academies, and strips some IVF expansion language while cutting certain climate programs.
- It authorizes defense priorities including an overhaul to speed Pentagon weapons acquisition, troop‑floor restrictions for Europe and South Korea, roughly a 3.8–4% pay raise for many service members, and about $400 million per year in Ukraine assistance for two years.
- The bill repeals the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs and adds heightened oversight requirements and overdue Pentagon reports, including a 'lessons learned' assessment on the Ukraine war.
- The FBI‑notification provision touched off a public GOP dispute: Rep. Elise Stefanik accused Speaker Mike Johnson of removing the measure and 'lying' about it; Johnson said leadership chairs hadn’t agreed and the matter wasn’t on his radar. GOP aides blamed miscommunication, and Stefanik later declared victory after discussions with Johnson and former President Trump.
- The NDAA also includes a legislative rider granting federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina — which would extend access to Indian Health Service, federal funding streams, and land‑into‑trust authority — a move opposed by some other tribes that say the defense bill is the wrong vehicle and question the Lumbees’ historical claims.
📊 Relevant Data
In fiscal year 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded nearly 3 million inadmissible migrant encounters nationwide, an increase of nearly 50 percent compared to fiscal year 2021.
STARTLING STATS FACTSHEET: Fiscal Year 2024 Ends With Nearly 3 Million Inadmissible Encounters, 10.8 Million Total Encounters Since FY2021 — House Committee on Homeland Security
In fiscal year 2025, U.S. Border Patrol arrested 238,000 migrants crossing the southern border illegally, a significant decrease from 2.1 million encounters in the previous year.
Illegal US-Mexico border crossings hit lowest level in over 50 years — BBC
Recent U.S. immigration policies, including over 600 executive actions under the Biden administration as of December 2024, have influenced migration patterns, with changes in enforcement contributing to fluctuations in unauthorized immigrant populations.
Article: Biden's Mixed Immigration Legacy — Migration Policy Institute
In the U.S. Army, racial disparities in officer promotions have improved since 2020, but as of 2023, Black officers were promoted at a rate 2.9% lower than White officers, Hispanic officers 3.3% lower, and Asian-American officers 2.5% lower.
Racial disparity in Army officer promotions has improved since 2020, study finds — Stars and Stripes
After 12 months of testosterone suppression, transgender women remained 48% stronger with 35% larger quadriceps mass compared to cisgender women.
Trans Inclusion & Women's Sport — Women in Sport
As of 2025, there are approximately 574 federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States, with fiscal year 2025 federal funding for Indian Affairs programs totaling $4.6 billion.
Biden-Harris Administration support for Indian Country continues through increased investments — Bureau of Indian Affairs
In 2023-2024, main cocaine trafficking routes within the Americas by water include paths through the Caribbean, as documented by UNODC monitoring.
cocaine trafficking routes within the Americas, by water, 2023-2024 — UNODC
📰 Sources (13)
- The Senate advanced the FY2026 NDAA on a 76–20 procedural vote, setting up final passage later this week.
- Senators will hold amendment votes in the coming days.
- The Senate package includes a condition to force the Pentagon to hand over all unedited footage of the Caribbean boat strikes to access certain travel funds.
- Confirms the bill’s repeal of the 1991 and 2002 AUMFs.
- Notes a controversial DC airspace safety rollback provision that Sens. Cruz and Cantwell are pushing to strip via amendment.
- Bipartisan Senate support is coalescing to force release of unedited Caribbean strike footage via the NDAA provision.
- Multiple senators (Rand Paul, Tim Kaine, Angus King, Mike Rounds) publicly back releasing the full Sept. 2 double‑strike video to Congress/the public.
- Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker said the footage‑release rider was likely added at the leadership level.
- Senate procedural votes on the NDAA are slated to begin Monday.
- NDAA includes outbound investment screening targeting U.S. capital flows into Chinese sectors tied to military power.
- Bill prohibits use of U.S. government funds to buy equipment/services from blacklisted Chinese biotechnology companies.
- NDAA boosts U.S. support for Taiwan, which Beijing claims and has threatened to take by force.
- Direct reactions: Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi praised the provisions as a strategic approach to counter the CCP; China’s embassy (spokesperson Liu Pengyu) condemned the bill as undermining bilateral stabilization efforts.
- Context contrast: Article notes White House softened China language in its new National Security Strategy and allowed Nvidia H200 sales to China, highlighting a Hill–White House divergence.
- House passed the NDAA 312–112, authorizing roughly $900 billion and providing a 3.8% pay raise for many service members.
- Bill includes an overhaul of Pentagon weapons acquisition processes focused on speed; Rep. Adam Smith called it the 'most ambitious swing at acquisition reform' to date.
- White House signaled 'strong support' for the bill even as Congress adds oversight measures.
- The House version includes cuts to climate and DEI programs, repeals several old war authorizations, and demands more information on Caribbean boat strikes.
- Senate critics on both sides say the bill does not do enough to restrict military flights over Washington after the deadly midair collision near Reagan National; NTSB and victims’ families have voiced opposition to that section.
- House passed the NDAA 312–112; earlier rule passed 215–211 after several Republicans flipped to yes.
- Topline authorization is $901 billion; bill now heads to the Senate.
- Includes $400M per year in Ukraine funding for two years; withholds 25% of War Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget until raw maritime-strike footage is provided.
- Confirms inclusion of FBI notification to Congress when opening probes into federal candidates.
- Confirms troop-floor restrictions for Europe and South Korea; enlisted troop pay raise of 4%.
- CBDC ban and AI state‑preemption provisions are not in the final package; IVF coverage not included.
- The NDAA package includes language to grant the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina full federal recognition.
- Federal recognition would extend access to Indian Health Service, federal funding streams, and land-into-trust authority to the ~60,000-member tribe.
- President Trump issued an executive order directing Interior to create a Lumbee recognition plan; Interior delivered a plan in April but advised the tribe to continue pursuing recognition through Congress.
- Opposition from other tribes (e.g., Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians) argues the NDAA is not the appropriate vehicle and questions Lumbee historical claims.
- Lumbee Chairman John Lowery told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that only Congress can definitively resolve the tribe’s status, calling for rectifying a 1956 law that recognized the Lumbee but denied federal services.
- House votes today on the ~$900B NDAA, which is $8B above the administration’s request.
- Bill codifies 15 Trump executive orders, including authorizing active-duty troop use at the U.S.–Mexico border and deploying a 'Golden Dome' air/missile defense concept.
- Prohibits DEI programs at DoD and includes a 3.8% military pay raise.
- Provision to withhold 25% of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel funds until unedited maritime-strike footage is delivered remains in the bill; Schumer publicly praised this oversight.
- Language barring transgender women from women’s athletics at service academies is included; an IVF expansion provision was stripped.
- The NDAA includes a new condition withholding 25% of the Defense Secretary’s office travel funds until Armed Services committees receive unedited video of Southern Command maritime strikes.
- It additionally compels overdue Pentagon reports, including a 'lessons learned' assessment on the Ukraine war.
- Defines a 15‑day deadline for the FBI to notify Congress after opening a counterintelligence assessment or investigation into a federal candidate or current elected official.
- Specifies the notification recipients: the top four congressional leaders plus the top Republican and top Democrat on both the House and Senate judiciary and intelligence committees.
- Includes an exception if any of those recipients is the target of the probe.
- Confirms Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan’s office says he has "always been 100% supportive" of the provision.
- House GOP leadership aides attribute earlier confusion to "miscommunication and misunderstandings" and say they worked with Stefanik and committees to align the language.
- Final NDAA includes a mandate for FBI disclosure when investigating presidential and other federal candidates.
- Rep. Elise Stefanik claimed victory on X after discussions with Speaker Mike Johnson and President Trump.
- The broader $900B NDAA package targets China with tech bans and an outbound investment screening regime.
- Axios reports a House GOP staffer says Speaker Johnson, not Democrats, ultimately pulled Stefanik’s FBI‑notification provision from the NDAA; a senior House Democrat says Johnson’s stance was independently reached.
- Johnson publicly says the issue wasn’t on his radar until Stefanik went public, claims chamber chairs and rankers didn’t agree, and says he supports the idea even if it was removed.
- Stefanik escalates her rhetoric, calling Johnson’s statements 'more lies' and accusing him of siding with Rep. Jamie Raskin after Raskin fought the provision.
- Specifics of the proposal: it would require the FBI to notify Congress when opening a counterintelligence investigation into federal candidates.
- Stefanik threatens to oppose the NDAA over the omission; with a razor‑thin GOP margin, losing two votes could imperil a party‑line passage.
- Context added: Stefanik blames Johnson for her scuttled UN ambassador nomination and alleges he delayed and killed it; Johnson denies this.
- Johnson said the issue “hasn’t even made it to my level” and claimed bipartisan House and Senate Judiciary leaders had not agreed to include the provision in the NDAA.
- Stefanik countered that the House Intelligence Committee has jurisdiction and accused Johnson of lying, urging him to “fix it.”
- CBS notes the House could vote on the NDAA as soon as next week, and Stefanik reiterated she will vote no if the provision is excluded.