House passes massive $886 BILLION defense bill despite Republican turmoil over inclusion of short-term extension of FBI spy tool: Lawmakers flee D.C. for holidays as Senate is still negotiating border security and Ukraine and Israel aid

The House passed the sweeping $886-a-year National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes a pay raise for troops and a four-month extension of the FBI’s controversial spy tool.

The vote was 310 to 118. The bill was widely opposed by 73 right-wing Republicans who thought it did not have enough conservative provisions, but won support from 164 Democrats.

The Senate passed the NDAA Wednesday night in a vote of 87 to 13, moving the package to President Biden for his signature. Now, House lawmakers are fleeing DC to begin their three-week Christmas break.

But senators remain on Capitol Hill as they try to reach a deal with the White House to add border security measures to a $110 billion supplemental aid package to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific.

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus were furious with the final version of the NDAA, in conference with the Senate, which extended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) before it expires at the end of the year and removed some of the Republican amendments hard line. .

“I’m disappointed,” Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., told DailyMail.com about the bill. “The House voted to pass a very conservative bill,” he said of the version passed by the House over the summer that went further on social issues and stripped the military of “woke” provisions.

“We eliminated taxpayer funding for abortions, transgender surgeries, and new Green Deal provisions,” he continued. ‘I knew there was going to be some compromise, but agreeing to an NDAA that basically eliminated all the good work House Republicans had done? “That is unacceptable.”

Hardline conservatives revealed a public split with President Mike Johnson, who first said he would not tie FISA to the NDAA and changed his mind days later.

“Johnson is coming from the same point as I am: an extremely conservative view,” Rosendale said. ‘He has an extremely poor advisor around him. It undermines his confidence and gives him bad advice, which then leads to him making bad decisions.’

“We should not govern by fear and failure,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told DailyMail.com.

‘The Mike Johnson that’s coping [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky and the border should do the same with the NDAA and FISA.”

The legislation contains a four-month extension of the FBI’s controversial surveillance tool, Section 702 of FISA.

Lawmakers are working on a series of fixes to the law – which allows the United States to surveil foreigners in an attempt to thwart terrorists – before renewing it, as there have been a series of abuses.

But here’s where things get complicated: Two GOP-led committees are pushing different versions of their reauthorization bills.

Earlier this week, President Johnson had plans to put both in the room, one from the Judiciary and one from Intel, in a “queen of the hill” style setup to see which bill gets the most support. But after that decision was rejected, neither bill came up for a vote this week.

And a four-month extension was included in the final text of the NDAA bill.

That decision comes after far-right Republicans aligned with the House Freedom Caucus showed early signs of frustration with Johnson over his handling of the FISA reauthorization. They issued an ominous threat in opposition to the NDAA’s inclusion of FISA.

“Any reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) should be considered only with significant reforms and as a stand-alone measure,” the statement said.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told DailyMail.com on Thursday that the short-term extension is “ripe for reform.”

He applauded a number of provisions on “big, important victories,” including how it “refocuses our attention on China” and also eradicates “discriminatory DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) indoctrination in our military.”

‘And I’m proud of the amendments that were passed that then also supported our military men and women. So there are a lot of victories there,” said Schmitt, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The NDAA also includes a 5.2 percent pay increase for U.S. troops and requires the Pentagon to inform service members who were fired for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine that they can be reinstated.

It also contains $300 million in additional authorized funds for Ukraine in fiscal year 2024 – through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative – and $11.5 billion to deter the growing threat from China.

It strengthens the United States’ trilateral alliance with the United Kingdom and Australia through its AUKUS program and authorizes the group’s joint nuclear submarine mission.

Additionally, the legislation includes Republican-led measures to combat “woke” issues within the US military, including teaching critical race theory.

But it doesn’t block the Pentagon’s current policy that allows troops to be reimbursed for travel expenses to obtain abortions, an issue that Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, stopped more than 400 military promotions from.

The approval comes as the Senate remains divided over whether to approve a huge separate spending request of more than $61 billion for Ukraine and additional aid for Israel and Taiwan. Republicans are demanding that important border security measures be included in any such package.

President Biden has signaled that he is open to working with Republicans on border security to achieve critical assistance for Ukraine and other US allies.

Reports this week revealed that the Biden administration is in talks with congressional negotiators to dramatically expand detentions and deportations at the border, as well as essentially revive pandemic-era Title 42 policies by expelling migrants without listen to asylum applications.

In exchange, Republicans would join Biden’s proposal. But it remains to be seen whether lawmakers can agree before the Christmas recess.

The Senate majority leader said Thursday morning that White House negotiators, Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans “will continue to negotiate a supplemental national security package.”

‘Yesterday we had another round of productive talks and there was more progress. But there is more work to do,’ he stated.

Last week, Republican senators blocked President Biden’s request for $110 billion in aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as the GOP calls for tighter security measures on the southern border.

The package included $61 billion for Ukraine, as well as assistance to Israel in its ongoing war against Hamas terrorists, humanitarian aid to Gaza, and funds to support U.S. partners in the Indo-Pacific.