The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed an $886 billion defense bill that would set Pentagon policy and provide a 5.2 percent pay raise for military personnel, defying the demands of hard-right Republicans who had tried and failed to attach a raft of deeply partisan restrictions on abortion, transgender care and diversity initiatives.
The vote was 87 to 13 to approve the legislation, which would expand the Defense Department’s ability to compete with China and Russia in hypersonic and nuclear weapons, implement components of a key Indo-Pacific security partnership with Britain and Australia, and direct hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine and Israel. The Ukraine and Israel programs authorized by the bill are distinct from a $111 billion spending bill to send additional weapons to those countries, among other expenditures, that is currently stalled in Congress.
May I ask for a Tl;dr for nonamericans? This is a breakthrough on the big-ass bill with funding for Ukraine for next year and with more racism at the US-Mexico border?
There are few things the two American political parties agree on but traditionally no one dared to ever challenge military promotions, spending, etc. The maga dick heads have been trying to make everything about their culture wars bullshit and now they can’t pass even benign legislation without one of them trying to tack on some child genital inspection act.
I’ve seen a bit of a fallout for the maga dick heads as the more business as usual Republicans are souring to their election losing style of politics and going against their shit. That was santos getting the boot. That was the military promotions going through. And now we are seeing some of the Ukranian money get freed up.
This is separate from the aid bill that Republicans are tying to anti-immigration “border security.”
Thanks this is what I was unsure of
