Iran war, Israel provisions sink $1.15 trillion defense bill in Senate

A sweeping $1.15 trillion defense bill failed to advance July 14 as Senate Democrats objected to the Iran War and provisions that would deepen the U.S. military’s intelligence and technological ties to Israel.

The chamber voted 50-46 to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), falling ten votes short of the 60 required. Every voting Democrat opposed advancement. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., cast a procedural “no” vote that allows him to seek reconsideration later. Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Jim Justice, R-W.Va.; Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., did not vote.

The vote did not permanently defeat the bill. Congress has enacted an NDAA every year for more than six decades, and Senate and House negotiators ordinarily produce a final compromise after each chamber passes its own version. Tuesday’s action nevertheless represented a rare rebellion against legislation usually treated as essential and broadly bipartisan.

The proposed NDAA would authorize approximately $1.15 trillion in defense spending, including weapons procurement, military construction, new technology programs, and troop pay raises. The White House has also sought another $350 billion through the budget-reconciliation process, potentially bringing total military spending to approximately $1.5 trillion.

Critics’ concerns were heightened by the Senate Armed Services Committee’s rejection of an amendment that would have prohibited funding military operations against Iran until Congress authorized the use of force. The proposal, which also would have called for disclosures about the war’s effect on military readiness, failed 13-14 along party lines during the committee’s consideration of the bill.

A bloc of senators led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders had also urged Democrats to block the bill unless they received an opportunity to debate and remove provisions expanding U.S.-Israel military and intelligence cooperation, warning the bill would “deepen the U.S. relationship with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s extremist government.”

The Senate bill would broaden existing U.S.-Israel cooperation on subterranean warfare, add $30 million to joint programs countering unmanned systems, and establish a new “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.”

That initiative would direct the secretary of defense, working with Israel’s defense minister, to accelerate joint research, testing, weapons development, industrial cooperation, and the integration of military technology between the two countries.

Lawmakers also objected to anticipated provisions in the fiscal year 2027 Intelligence Authorization Act, which is typically combined with the NDAA later in the process. According to their letter, the intelligence measure would require the administration to expand intelligence sharing with Israel and restrict its ability to reduce or suspend that cooperation, even when counterintelligence or human rights concerns arise.

The revolt comes as public opinion shifts against both the Iran war and the Netanyahu government.

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found only one in four Americans believed the Iran war was worth its costs. The same polling showed Israel’s favorability among Democrats had fallen from 59% in 2018 to 22% this year.

As Zeale News previously reported, multiple national polls found a majority of Americans opposed the Iran conflict, while voters increasingly expressed concern about casualties, gas prices, and the absence of a clear endgame.

Another Zeale News report noted that polling found 61% of American Jews believed Israel had committed war crimes in Gaza, while 39% described its conduct as genocide.

Thune can bring the measure back for another vote. To advance it, however, Republicans will need either Democratic concessions or changes addressing the Iran war, the bill’s cost, and its controversial U.S.-Israel provisions.