Democratic lawmakers are largely cooperating with Republicans on a sweeping defense package to authorize hundreds of billions of dollars for the Pentagon — even as President Donald Trump promises to expand his use of the military for domestic law enforcement.
The Senate teed up debate on the annual defense policy bill Tuesday night with an 84-14 vote, preparing to approve nearly $925 billion for defense and the armed forces. Senators will consider amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act this week before voting on final passage.
The House is set to debate its own version of the bill next week, and the two chambers will have to reconcile the differences between their respective versions of the bill if members want to pass it into law by the end of the year.