Washington:

The US Senate on Monday voted overwhelmingly to advance an $895 billion bill setting policy for the Pentagon toward passage as soon as Tuesday, which would send it to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law.

The tally was 83 to 12 in favor of advancing the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, to a vote on final passage, comfortably over the 60 needed in the 100-member Senate. The bill advanced despite the inclusion of a controversial provision aimed at banning some gender-affirming care for transgender children of service members.

This year’s NDAA authorizes a record $895 billion in annual military spending, covering provisions on purchases of military equipment and boosting competitiveness with archrivals including China and Russia.

The 1,800-page bill also focuses on improving the quality of life for the U.S. military.

It authorizes a 14.5% pay increase for the lowest-ranking troops, and 4.5% for the rest of the force, higher than usual. It also authorizes the construction of military housing, schools and childcare centers.

The bill bans the military health program, TRICARE, from covering gender-affirming care for the transgender children of service members if it could risk sterilization.

Including the provision in the bill setting policy for the Department of Defense underscored how transgender issues have become a focus in U.S. politics.

President-elect Donald Trump and many other Republicans blasted Democrats for supporting transgender rights during the 2024 election campaign, which ended with Republicans keeping control of the House and taking control of the Senate and White House starting next month.

The fiscal 2025 NDAA is a compromise between Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate, reached during weeks of negotiations behind closed doors.

It did not include some other Republican proposals on social issues, including an effort to prohibit TRICARE from covering gender-affirming care for transgender adults and a measure that would have reversed the Pentagon’s policy of funding travel for abortion for troops stationed in states where the procedure is banned.

The massive bill is one of the few major pieces of legislation Congress passes every year and lawmakers take pride in having passed it annually for more than six decades.

The NDAA authorizes Pentagon programs, but does not fund them. Congress must separately pass funding in a spending bill for the fiscal year ending in September 2025. That bill is unlikely to be enacted before March.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

The Republicans in the US Senate picked John Thune as the chamber’s new leader Wednesday as lawmakers scrambling to prepare for President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration rejected his camp’s favored candidate.

Thune, who already holds a junior leadership position, bested John Cornyn of Texas in a run-off to replace outgoing party leader Mitch McConnell, having already seen off Florida’s Rick Scott, who was seen as most aligned with Trump.

“This Republican team is united behind President Trump’s agenda, and our work starts today,” Thune, who represents South Dakota, said in a brief statement.

The Senate — the upper chamber of Congress — jealously guards its independence and institutional authority, and its leadership election was seen as a clue into how much leeway members intend to give Trump.

Cornyn had the longer history in the chamber, while Thune was always seen as most aligned with the traditionalist wing of the party led by McConnell.

Trump insiders had preferred Scott, an ardent loyalist who had promised to do the president-elect’s bidding.

Trump’s allies campaigned aggressively against Thune and Cornyn, pressuring individual senators in a push that has sparked a backlash — but Trump was wary of Scott’s unpopularity and did not publicly endorse him.

Trump threw down a challenge Sunday to any prospective leader, demanding that they allow “recess appointments” — the naming of cabinet members while the Senate is adjourned, bypassing the body’s normal confirmation process.

Thune — along with the others — passed Trump’s loyalty test by replying that he was open to the idea.

Scott’s cheerleaders — a group that includes tech billionaire and Trump confidant Elon Musk, and far-right media personality Tucker Carlson — questioned Thune’s commitment to the incoming president, dredging up past opposition.

Decisive win

Trump is expected to further test lawmakers with a series of controversial moves, not least pardoning many of the people convicted of crimes related to the 2021 storming of the Capitol.

Other members have winced at the Republican president-elect’s plans for steep, across-the-board import tariffs, although most are behind his tax cut extension — which is expected to add significantly to the national debt.

The House and the Senate kicked off their frantic “lame-duck” session on Tuesday.

California is still counting ballots, but Republicans are widely expected to keep the House, handing the party total control of Washington after they claimed the Senate and White House last week.

The top priority for both parties in both chambers is funding the government to keep federal agencies open after December 20, with Republicans mulling a stop-gap measure that would keep the lights on into March.

The entire House of Representatives — Democrats as well as Republicans — gets to vote on the speaker, meaning Mike Johnson has to wait until the new Congress convenes in January to find out if he can hang on to the gavel.

“Republicans in the House and Senate have a mandate, it’s true. It was a decisive win across the nation,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday.

“The American people want us to implement and deliver that America First agenda.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)