The US House passed the National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday, punting the yearly legislation that governs Pentagon spending to the Senate, Report informs via Fox News.
The vote was 312 to 112, with 18 Republicans and 94 Democrats voting "no" on the bill that authorizes $901 billion in War Department spending.
An earlier procedural vote on the legislation just barely passed 215–211 at the 11th hour after four Republicans: Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla, Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., all changed their votes from no to yes. All Democrats voted no on the procedural rule vote.
House and Senate leaders already have combined their own versions of the legislation into one negotiated package, meaning it should face smooth sailing through the Senate and to President Donald Trump's desk.
Hardline conservatives had spoken out against the bill over the inclusion of Ukraine funding at $400 million per year for two years and the omission of a provision that would ban the Federal Reserve from creating a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
But conservatives had pushed the CBDC prohibition as a privacy and civil-liberties measure, arguing that a government-issued digital dollar could give federal agencies the ability to monitor or restrict individual transactions.
Other provisions strictly curtail Trump from reducing troop presence in Europe and South Korea or pausing weapons deliveries to Ukraine. The bill also would withhold one quarter of War Secretary Pete Hegseth's travel budget until the Pentagon hands over raw footage of the strikes on alleged narco-trafficking boats near Venezuela.