House faces uncertain vote on NDAA after Republicans push through amendments on social issues
CBSN
Washington — The House is set to vote Friday on the annual defense policy bill, which faces an uncertain future after Republicans pushed through a series of conservative policy amendments on abortion, diversity, equity and inclusion programs and gender transition procedures.
The National Defense Authorization Act, which typically earns bipartisan support and has passed each year for more than six decades, faces sharp opposition from congressional Democrats who have accused their GOP colleagues of using the package as a vehicle to push their conservative policy agenda.
"Extreme MAGA Republicans have chosen to hijack the historically bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act to continue attacking reproductive freedom and jamming their right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people," House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic whip Katherine Clark and caucus chair Pete Aguilar said in a statement. "House Republicans have turned what should be a meaningful investment in our men and women in uniform into an extreme and reckless legislative joyride."
More employees of the Environmental Protection Agency were informed Wednesday that their jobs appear in doubt. Senior leadership at the EPA held an all-staff meeting to tell individuals that President Trump's executive order, "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing," which was responsible for the closure of the agency's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion office, will likely lead to the shuttering of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights as well.
Democrats on Capitol Hill, and sources familiar with the situation, said the White House's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been inside the offices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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A report produced by federal investigators with the U.S. Capitol Police revealed the number of investigations into threats against Congress and the Capitol complex surged to the second-highest number on record in 2024, amid a toxic and menacing moment in American politics.