Senate passes $895 billion defense bill with controversial gender-affirming care restriction

Washington — The Senate approved the mammoth $895 billion National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday, despite concern from some Democrats over a controversial policy restricting gender-affirming care for children of servicemembers. 

In a 85 to 14 vote, the Senate approved the legislation, which the House passed last week. Eleven Democrats and three Republicans voted against it in the upper chamber. The bill now heads to President Biden’s desk for his signature. 

The 1,800 page national security legislation to authorize funding for the Defense Department for fiscal year 2025. But the bill includes a handful of controversial policies, like the gender-affirming care restriction, and lost support from the majority of Democrats in the House. 

The Democratic-controlled Senate pushed forward with the measure nonetheless. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer noted that while the NDAA “isn’t perfect,” it still “includes some very good things that Democrats fought for” — citing provisions aimed at standing up against the Chinese Communist Party, boosting the use of artificial intelligence for national defense and expanding domestic tech innovation.

“Congress has passed the NDAA on a bipartisan basis for over six straight decades, and this year will be no different,” Schumer said ahead of the vote on Wednesday. “We’re passing the NDAA and that’s a very good thing.”

Sen. Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, derided the gender-affirming care restriction earlier this week, calling it “the product of a nationwide campaign against trans rights” and arguing that the legislation’s approval would mark “the first anti-LGBTQ law passed by Congress in decades.”

Still, the outcome of the vote was all but guaranteed after the Senate advanced the measure on Monday in a 83-12 procedural vote. 

Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, celebrated the NDAA’s “immense accomplishments,” including a 14.5% pay raise for junior service members and investments in recruitment capabilities. But he said Congress “missed an opportunity to strengthen the president-elect’s hand as he takes office in a precarious world situation.”

Wicker outlined that the Armed Services Committee proposed $25 billion for modernization programs, including for missile defense, ship building and counter-drone technology, saying “this should have been part of the bill today.”

Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat who chairs the Armed Services Committee, called the legislation a “strong, forward looking bill that we can all be proud of.” But he said he “strongly” disagrees with the inclusion of the gender-affirming care provision, calling it a “misguided provision.” 

“I share many of my colleagues’ frustrations that the bill includes a provision that would prohibit gender-affirming health care for minors under certain circumstances,” Reed noted, adding that he voted against the provision in committee. “We will continue to work to ensure the health care rights of all military personnel and their dependents.”