The House on Tuesday approved a procedural vote to advance the $1.15 trillion 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, which includes a section to further integrate the US and Israeli militaries, a plan that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said was his idea.
The rule to allow floor debate and a vote on the NDAA and several pieces of legislation passed in a 214-211 vote, and a final vote on the House’s version of the NDAA is expected to take place on Wednesday. The procedural step came after the House Rules Committee denied a vote on an amendment introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to strip Section 219, the Israeli integration plan, from the bill.
“Unfortunately the Rule passed just now and no debate or vote was allowed on section 219, integration of US military technology and supply chains with Israel’s,” Massie wrote on X. “The NDAA will receive a recorded vote tomorrow with section 219 in it. I’ll vote no.”
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who has supported Massie’s efforts, said that he will now fight to strip Section 219 in the conference between the House and Senate, when the two chambers negotiate the final version of the NDAA.
“Thomas Massie and I have been fighting to stop the integration between our military and the Israeli military. It’s shocking that this even has to be explained. It’s about American sovereignty,” Khanna said in a brief video statement on Tuesday.
“Yet yesterday, the Rules Committee found that Thomas Massie’s amendment couldn’t even get a vote in the House of Representatives. We do not even have the chance to vote in the House to stop the US and Israel from co-producing weapons. We need to now fight to strip this amendment in the conference between the House and the Senate,” he added.
The Senate’s version of the NDAA also includes a provision to integrate the two militaries, but the sprawling legislation was blocked by Senate Democrats last week over President Trump’s war with Iran, which hasn’t been authorized by Congress and has continued despite both chambers passing a concurrent War Powers Resolution directing the president to end the conflict.
