{"id":192,"date":"2026-06-04T10:11:39","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T10:11:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=192"},"modified":"2026-06-04T10:11:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T10:11:39","slug":"democrats-ready-a-slew-of-amendments-for-the-defense-policy-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=192","title":{"rendered":"Democrats Ready a Slew of Amendments for the Defense Policy Debate"},"content":{"rendered":"
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House Democrats plan to use a debate Thursday on the defense policy bill to challenge President Donald Trump\u2019s national security agenda, setting up fights over the Iran war, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s firing of top officers and a record-high Pentagon budget request.<\/p>\n

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Because Republicans hold a 30-27 majority on the House Armed Services Committee, which is marking up its annual National Defense Authorization Act, contentious Democratic amendments are unlikely to succeed.<\/p>\n

But the session, which usually stretches into the early hours, helps Democrats get Republicans on the record over Trump\u2019s most controversial national security decisions.<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t be all fireworks. Lawmakers have submitted nearly 1,000 amendments \u2014 many of them on more mundane matters for the comprehensive must-pass bill \u2014 and may debate about 60, the number they tackled last year.<\/p>\n

Committee Chair Mike Rogers, an Alabama Republican, and Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the panel\u2019s top Democrat, have worked in the past to deflect most contentious culture war amendments and send the House a strong bipartisan bill. <\/p>\n

There will be fights, however, and here are three to watch:<\/p>\n

Hegseth personnel shakeups:<\/b> Democrats are set to challenge Hegseth\u2019s firing of top military officers and removal of officers from promotion lists who have already been vetted and approved through the military\u2019s traditional selection process. Critics charge that Hegseth has disproportionately targeted female and Black officers, a claim the Pentagon denies.<\/p>\n

Rep. Patrick Ryan, a New York Democrat, is expected to offer a separate amendment addressing Hegseth\u2019s firings, while Rep. Marilyn Strickland, a Washington Democrat, told NOTUS she\u2019ll offer an amendment that would make the president the only official authorized to overturn a military promotion board recommendation.<\/p>\n

Strickland\u2019s proposal would require Congress to be notified within five days when that authority is exercised. She said she hopes to protect a \u201cthoughtful, thorough, well-vetted process\u201d for selecting military leaders and ensure qualified officers are promoted based on merit.<\/p>\n

Rep. Austin Scott, a Georgia Republican, told NOTUS he could support amendments along these lines. He has voiced concern about Hegseth upending an apolitical merit-based promotions process and the firing of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, among other officers, with little explanation.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI believe that our system has led to the greatest military the world has seen,\u201d Scott said, \u201cand so I\u2019m disappointed that one individual has taken it upon themselves to look through a list of people \u2014 who are in the top 2% of their category and were selected by their peers to push forward to become general officers \u2014 and remove them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pentagon price tag:<\/b> Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts) plans to offer an amendment cutting $150 billion from the proposed $1.15 trillion authorization bill, marking one of the most significant challenges to the NDAA\u2019s top line in years.<\/p>\n

The amendment faces long odds, but debate will showcase Republican arguments that the funding is needed for military modernization, readiness and deterrence \u2014 and Democratic arguments that the massive defense budget is out of step with the pocketbook concerns of everyday Americans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re tired of foreign wars; we\u2019re tired of a military that\u2019s spread out all over the world, and we want that money for jobs here,\u201d said Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat who has offered similar amendments. \u201cWe want that money for child care here, for health care here, helping the American people \u2014 not getting in fights around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryan also plans to offer an amendment that would bar the Pentagon from spending additional money on military operations against Iran.<\/p>\n

Ukraine and Europe:<\/b> Republicans have already used the bill\u2019s draft to push back on some of the Trump administration\u2019s troop moves in Europe, including provisions that would extend minimum U.S. troop levels on the continent mandated by last year\u2019s NDAA and require justification before major drawdowns.<\/p>\n

Democrats are expected to try to go further.<\/p>\n

Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat, plans amendments focused on Ukraine, NATO and commitments to allies. Those proposals could attract backing from Republicans such as Rep. Don Baconof Nebraska, the chair of the House Baltic Caucus, who has been outspoken in backing Ukraine and maintaining the U.S. military presence in Europe.<\/b><\/p>\n

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\u201cIf it\u2019s there, I\u2019ll vote for it,\u201d he told NOTUS.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The three things to watch as the House Armed Services Committee takes up the defense bill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress"],"yoast_head":"\nDemocrats Ready a Slew of Amendments for the Defense Policy Debate - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=192\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Democrats Ready a Slew of Amendments for the Defense Policy Debate - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The three things to watch as the House Armed Services Committee takes up the defense bill.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=192\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-04T10:11:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=192#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=192\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"headline\":\"Democrats Ready a Slew of Amendments for the Defense Policy Debate\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-04T10:11:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=192\"},\"wordCount\":756,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=192#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/33c500400de36492c8c10b3b2af8a398-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Congress\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=192#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=192\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=192\",\"name\":\"Democrats Ready a Slew of Amendments for the Defense Policy Debate - Modern Home Journals\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=192#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=192#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/33c500400de36492c8c10b3b2af8a398-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-04T10:11:39+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=192#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=192\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/?p=192#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/33c500400de36492c8c10b3b2af8a398-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/modernhomejournals.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/33c500400de36492c8c10b3b2af8a398-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1706,\"caption\":\"An American soldiers from the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group stands guard during a meeting with the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in Deir Hafer, Syria, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. 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