Free Republic

Claims that the United States has "integrated" its military with Israel have circulated widely following the passage of the House version of the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The phrase is dramatic, but it does not accurately describe what Congress has approved. The legislation does not merge the two militaries, establish a combined command, or create a NATO-style mutual defence treaty. American and Israeli armed forces will continue to operate under separate national command structures. The bill instead seeks to integrate something that may prove even more important over the long term: the defence innovation ecosystems of...

House passes reconciliation framework for Pentagon boost, voting restrictions by Emily Brooks and Sudiksha Kochi - 07/22/26 5:00 PM ET House Republicans on Wednesday approved a $95 billion framework for a third budget reconciliation package that would boost funding for the Pentagon, provide agriculture aid and provide money to encourage states to adopt voting restrictions. The vote is a victory for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), as he had to win over lawmakers in his razor-thin majority who were concerned about the lack of spending offsets in the package. . . . The lower chamber voted 216-214 to approve the budget...

"The House of Representatives passed the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday. The bill still includes the provision which merges the Israeli military into the U.S. military. The NDAA now goes to the Senate where there is still a chance for the Israeli merger provision to be stripped out."

@FmrRepMTG Total betrayal. The House of Representatives passed the NDAA 216-212. 7 Republicans voted NO. 6 Democrats voted YES. This $1.1 trillion dollar military budget contains Sec 219 that ties our military intelligence and military industrial base to Israel. Now it goes to the Senate.

HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — Senate Democrats, seething over the Trump administration’s revived war with Iran, blocked a traditionally bipartisan defense funding bill on Tuesday. The Defense Department is seeking more than $1 trillion through a broad package that includes program funding, pay raises and policy directives as the ceasefire with Tehran ends. The administration’s hopes for the historically high request were suppressed on Capitol Hill, where a mostly party-line vote delayed passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, which usually succeeds with ease. Forty-five Democrats voted against the legislation, preventing Republicans from overcoming the 60-vote barrier set for most...

A band of conservative hardliners on Tuesday blocked a procedural rule that would have teed up debate and final votes on a slate of legislation, dealing a blow to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) as he aimed to advance the annual defense authorization bill this week. The lower chamber voted 198-224 to reject the rule, with 14 Republicans joining Democrats in opposing the measure due to objections about the SAVE America Act, the priorities of the House, and a niche pension issue. GOP Reps. Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Eric Burlison (Mo.), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Randy Fine (Fla.), Andy Harris (Md.), Anna Paulina...

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., added an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027 that would require military academies to accept the Classic Learning Test for admissions. The CLT exam is a standardized assessment that tests students in reading, writing, and mathematics, with a focus on classical and historical texts. The amendment, passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee, would allow applicants to submit Classic Learning Test (CLT) test scores instead of those from the traditional SAT or ACT. “I was proud to secure this amendment to help our military academies attract the best and brightest young...

The Pentagon is asking Congress to relax lobbying restrictions for some senior defense officials and civilians formerly employed by the department. A new Department of War (DOW) proposal aims to remove portions of the “cooling off” period that certain former Pentagon officials and civilian employees must wait through before lobbying for the military-industrial complex. The Pentagon is making this move as conflicts around the globe create record-breaking profits for defense manufacturers. The proposal would remove the “one-year restriction on O-7/O-8 military officers and their civilian equivalents and the one-year restriction on all senior officials.” It goes on to note that...

“Deep Dive: The Quiet Coup Inside the NDAA The Responsible Statecraft piece has put its finger on something genuinely significant — and the fact that this is happening inside a must-pass $1.15 trillion defense bill, buried at Section 224, tells you everything about how the permanent national security apparatus operates when it wants to avoid a public fight. What Section 224 Actually Does This isn’t a tweak. Section 224 — titled the “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative” — is a structural rewiring of the U.S.-Israel military relationship.” More at link.

In July 2022, The Gateway Pundit reported on testimony given in a federal complaint that was filed by Kari Lake and Mark Finchem in the US District Court in Arizona. The complaint was a civil rights action for declaratory and injunctive relief to prohibit the use of electronic voting machines in the State of Arizona ahead of the 2022 Midterm Elections. That complaint included testimony from a former Voting System Testing Labs contractor by the name of Clay Parikh. Parikh would go on to discover the 19-inch ballot printing error that plagued the Maricopa County 2022 midterm elections, causing massive...

The US House of Representatives voted to pass a negotiated version of the National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday, sending the Pentagon spending bill to the Senate for final approval. This bill was negotiated with Democrats in the House and the Senate, resulting in a bipartisan vote that some MAGA firebrands opposed.Per Fox: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...

The Washington establishment is once again working overtime to undermine the best of President Trump’s restraint-oriented foreign policy instincts. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Congress is currently debating, includes three separate provisions that reduce the president’s ability to reposition or withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, Europe, and South Korea. The hypocrisy is blatant. Congress is content to avoid tough votes by abdicating its warmaking powers to the executive branch. It has not formally declared war since the Second World War. Yet when the President displays a willingness to end wars and consolidate America’s overstretched military, Congress seeks to...

Visibly angry and upset, Donald Trump described Charlie Kirk as a martyr for truth and freedom, as he paid tribute to a man he considered to be not just a close friend, but also someone who played a significant role in his re-election and in shaping the MAGA movement. Trump directly blamed radical left-wing politics for contributing to this atrocity and other recent violent political attacks. He noticeably did not mention recent murders and violent attacks against Democrats. Often atrocities like this create an atmosphere of political unity. Many senior politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, have responded by saying this...

House Republicans are calling on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to expedite a national security review of Chinese drone manufacturers like Shenzhen Da-Jiang Innovations Sciences and Technologies Company Limited (DJI Technologies) pursuant to the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. In a letter to ODNI signed by representatives Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.; Rick Crawford, R-Ark.; and John Moolenaar, R-Mich., the lawmakers requested timely execution of the review as drone technology quickly accelerates. President Donald Trump signed an executive order last month prioritizing the accelerated integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into U.S. national airspace. But before that fully...

The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, slipped quietly into the depths of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), embodies the insidious nature of modern propaganda. This Act, a malignant offshoot of the original Smith-Mundt Act of 1948, dismantles the barriers that once stood between American citizens and the persuasive machinery of U.S. government-sponsored propaganda. With the stroke of a legislative pen, the distinction between truth and state-sanctioned narrative was rendered ambiguous, blurring the line between informed citizenry and manipulated populace.The original Smith-Mundt Act, birthed in the aftermath of World War II, sought to wield the power of information as a...

Lt. General William G. Boykin FRC Action 801 G Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20001 Tel: 1-877/372-2808 Dear Robert, I wanted to share some good news regarding the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), an important piece of legislation that provides funding and sets policies for the U.S. Department of Defense. First, the effort to "Draft our Daughters" has been thwarted for another year! Language requiring women to register with the Selective Service (which would make them eligible for any future military drafts) has been removed from this year's NDAA. In addition, this year's NDAA includes a provision that prohibits taxpayer...

UFOs are supposed to be the stuff of conspiracy theories and fringe documentaries. And yet many high-ranking government officials believe some of the most explosive claims about UFOs to be true. How would this potential reality affect the conservative worldview? On December 13, 2023 Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor to deliver remarks which can only be described as incredible. He was speaking about his amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Remarkably, the subject of this amendment was not Ukraine or China, nor Russia or Iran, but rather UAP (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena, or what used...

U.S. Rep. Colin Allred has signed a letter urging the removal of provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act that restrict funding for transgender surgeries and LGBT activities in the military. The Hill reported that in June, Congress passed the NDAA with provisions that would restrict access to funding for gender mutilating surgeries as well as certain LGBT activities such as drag shows for military members and their families. In a letter to the House and Senate Committees on Armed Services, 160 Democrats, including Allred, called for the removal of these provisions, citing, “If service members are concerned for their...

House of Representatives passed a measure on Friday automatically registering men aged 18 to 26 for selective service. It was part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets out the U.S. government’s military and national security priorities over the next fiscal year. This year's NDAA authorizes $895.2 billion in military spending, a $9 billion increase from fiscal 2024. While it hasn’t been invoked in over half a century, it’s mandatory for all male U.S. citizens to register for the selective service, also known as the military draft, when they turn 18. Failure to register is classified as...

The U.S. House of Representatives has recently passed an amendment as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2025. The amendment H.R. 8070 will automatically register all draft-age male U.S. residents with the Selective Service System for a possible military draft, based on information from other Federal databases. This new system of automatic draft registration would replace the existing system, in place since 1980, in which young men have the freedom to decide whether or not to sign up for the draft. According to People’s World, the automatic draft registration proposal was initiated by the Selective...