Senate Democrats block must-pass defense policy bill over Iran war objections
The 50-46 vote stalled the 66th National Defense Authorization Act as Democrats demanded tighter war powers limits and more oversight of Pentagon spending.
- On Tuesday, Senate Democrats blocked a $1 trillion annual defense bill, refusing to advance the bipartisan package in protest of President Donald Trump's war against Iran.
- Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer announced his opposition to the National Defense Authorization Act, citing the war's fifth month with no clear endgame in sight.
- Lawmakers are resisting the White House request to increase Pentagon spending to $1.5 trillion, up from about $900 billion last year; the 50-46 vote failed largely along party lines.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune switched his vote to allow future reconsideration, while Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to meet with House Republicans to discuss separate budget reconciliation funding.
- Congress has tried repeatedly to slap guardrails on the administration, voting more than 10 times on various war powers resolutions to halt hostilities in the U.S.-Israel led conflict.
141 Articles
141 Articles
US: Democrats stall crucial defence budget in protest against Trump policies
US: Democrats stall crucial defence budget in protest against Trump policies Submitted by MEE staff on Wed, 07/15/2026 - 21:07 While different lawmakers had different motivations, the president's approach to Iran and Israel is proving increasingly unpopular A view of the US Capitol dome in Washington, DC on 13 July 2026 (Al Drago/Reuters) Off In rare pushback against a must-pass annual defence budget bill, Democrats in the US Senate on Tuesday…
Senate Democrats Act Like An Opposition Party, Block $1 Trillion Defense Bill
Photo: David B. Gleason, Creative Commons License 2.0Democrats in the Senate yesterday protested Donald Trump’s ongoing war against Iran by blocking the annual Defense Department funding bill from moving forward. The vote came days after Trump notified Congress that his phony cease-fire with Iran had somehow not held together and that the US was once again bombing Iran for peace. Most years, the defense bill, formally called the National Defense…
Responsible Statecraft
Aletho NewsCan Dems harness Iran war anger to sink Trump’s military budget?
Congress returned to Washington DC this week after its July 4 recess. With President Donald Trump having recently declared the memorandum of understanding with Iran “over” and with the two countries exchanging attacks, the war has predictably taken center stage. Congressional Democrats have been mostly unified against the war, but this week has presented opportunities for members to use new vehicles to express their opposition via the power of t…
In the United States, a battle is raging in the Senate over the defense budget. Democrats have blocked consideration of a record-breaking bill worth over $1.15 trillion. They are denouncing Donald Trump's military strategy in Iran and demanding stronger congressional oversight of armed operations.
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