House Vote Presumes Approval for Guns on Military Bases
The House voted 215-214 to make approval the default when qualified service members and Pentagon civilian employees ask commanders to carry personal firearms on military installations.
The measure does not automatically give personnel permission to carry guns on base. Instead, the amendment from Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo., creates a presumption that installation commanders will approve requests from qualified applicants.
Three Democrats joined most Republicans in supporting the amendment. Three Republicans and independent Rep. Kevin Kiley of California voted against it.
The vote came less than a year after an Army sergeant allegedly used a personal handgun to shoot five fellow soldiers at Fort Stewart, Georgia, in August 2025. Other soldiers tackled and disarmed the suspect. All five victims survived. Military officials said personal firearms were prohibited on the installation at the time.
The firearms measure was one of several divisive provisions added as the House worked through the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. The NDAA is traditionally one of Congress’ most bipartisan bills, but the latest amendments could make final passage more difficult and create new disputes with the Senate.
- Military health care: The House approved a Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., amendment 219-208 that would bar TRICARE from covering transition-related hormones, puberty blockers and surgeries for service members and military dependents. Five Democrats supported the measure, while one Republican opposed it.
- Military-connected schools: Lawmakers voted 221-203 for another Mace amendment barring transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports at Department of Defense Education Activity schools.
- Transgender military service: The House rejected a Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., amendment that would have codified President Donald Trump’s 2025 executive order barring transgender troops from serving and requiring personnel to serve according to their biological sex. The vote was 217-212, with four Republicans joining all voting Democrats in opposition.
- Ukraine assistance: Members rejected Rep. Eli Crane’s, R-Ariz., proposal to largely eliminate funding for the Pentagon’s Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. His amendment would have allowed funding only for security at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv. Seventy-six Republicans backed it.
The House also rejected a proposal to bar foreign nationals from attending U.S. military academies. That amendment failed 360-61 and would have ended programs that train officers from allied and partner countries at West Point, the Naval Academy and the Air Force Academy.
Other votes removed a proposed pilot program using voice-based risk assessments to identify service members for drug testing. Lawmakers also narrowly approved, 215-214, language intended to keep California’s Santa Ynez Pipeline System operating. The pipeline transports crude oil to refineries that supply military installations.
The House made 320 amendments eligible for consideration, eight more than were included in the procedural package that collapsed the previous month during a Republican revolt over the SAVE America Act. Debate was expected to continue Wednesday, followed by a final-passage vote after the remaining amendments were considered.
The underlying defense bill would authorize roughly $1.15 trillion for national defense, about $252 billion more than Congress appropriated for defense programs in fiscal year 2026. It includes service-member pay raises ranging from 5% to 7%, expanded weapons and munitions production, and faster investment in missile defense, autonomous systems and hypersonic weapons.
The NDAA sets defense policy and authorizes spending levels. It does not itself provide the money, which must be appropriated through separate legislation.
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