House Passes $1.15T Defense Bill After Israel Fight
The House passed its $1.15 trillion annual defense policy bill Wednesday, but the vote exposed a sharp divide over the future of U.S.-Israel military cooperation.
The fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act passed 216-212. Republicans largely supported the measure, while Democrats mostly opposed it. Only six Democrats voted for the bill.
The annual defense bill usually attracts broad bipartisan support. This time, opposition centered on Section 219, along with Republican-backed amendments dealing with transgender medical care and access to personal firearms on military bases.
Section 219 would expand cooperation between the United States and Israel on defense research, weapons development, testing and industrial production. It would direct the secretary of war to appoint a Pentagon “executive agent” to coordinate and accelerate those efforts.
Supporters said the provision would organize existing programs and help the United States gain faster access to Israeli defense technology. Critics argued that it would make the relationship harder for future lawmakers and administrations to change. They also said it could move parts of the partnership away from highly visible foreign aid votes and into less visible procurement and technology deals.
The dispute came one week after 103 Democrats joined Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., in voting to block $3.3 billion in U.S. aid to Israel. That vote showed how support for Israel has weakened among some House Democrats and a group of Republicans who oppose continued U.S. involvement in the region.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., urged lawmakers to reject the defense bill. She argued that Section 219 would “merge parts of our military with the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces.
“This amendment is an existential threat to American sovereignty and democracy,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X before the vote. “Every member of Congress must vote NO.”
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., pushed back forcefully.
“Good grief, you are either obtuse or intentionally lying. We are not merging our military with the IDF. As we do with many of our allies, we enter into cooperative agreements, share intelligence, develop technology and ammunitions, and conduct military exercises together. Stop stoking Jew hatred and do better,” Lawler wrote on X.
Massie opposed the bill after Republican leaders refused to allow a separate vote on his bipartisan amendment to remove Section 219. His amendment was supported by Democratic Reps. Ro Khanna of California, Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, Jesús “Chuy” García of Illinois and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
“We should not merge our military tech and supply chain with Israel’s,” Massie said on X.
Before final passage, the House approved two amendments from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla. One removed four uses of the word “integration” from the measure. The other extended annual reporting requirements to Congress for as long as the executive agent remains in place. The original reporting requirement would have ended in 2030.
Those changes did not remove the provision or its main structure. Section 219 would still require the Pentagon to identify Israeli-origin or jointly developed technologies that could be used in U.S. weapons programs. It would also promote joint ventures, licensing agreements and production partnerships between Israeli companies and U.S.-based firms.
The measure does not combine the countries’ military command structures. It does not place American troops under Israeli authority or give Israel control over U.S. military operations.
The two countries already cooperate on several defense systems, including Iron Dome, Arrow and David’s Sling missile defense, as well as counter-drone and anti-tunnel technology. The House vote would deepen that cooperation through a more formal Pentagon-led structure.
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