Senate Crosses Marjorie Taylor Greene's Red Line in New Bill

The Senate has passed its version of a critical national defense policy bill, but it is unlikely the legislation will get Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene's support in the House.

The Senate's National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed Thursday in an 86-11 vote, is headed to Congress's lower chamber, where House Republicans passed their version of the bill with controversial amendments widely opposed by their Democratic counterparts.

The Senate bill sets topline national defense funding at $886 billion for the 2024 fiscal year and includes $300 million in support for Ukraine, which Greene had filed an amendment to eliminate earlier this month. The legislation extends the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative through fiscal year 2027 and increases funding for U.S. efforts to respond to foreign threats.

"Congress should not authorize another penny for Ukraine and push the Biden administration to pursue peace," Greene said when introducing her amendment to strike the funding. The amendment failed to receive enough support, with 130 of Greene's Republican colleagues voting against markup.

Greene was expected to vote against the House's version of the NDAA since it included Ukraine funding, but she switched her vote in a last-minute decision after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy offered her a seat on a House-Senate conference committee.

"In doing so, that allows me to be a voice in the room to talk about removing the money going to Ukraine. To talk about the importance that our Department of Defense's mission is to deter war and protect our nation's security," Greene told reporters when speaking about McCarthy's invitation. "I'm very excited to be able to do that."

Newsweek reached out by email to Greene for comment.

Ukraine has received more than $100 billion in military and nonmilitary aid from the U.S. since the war began with Russia's invasion in February 2022. But Republicans have grown increasingly wary of sending more money. Senator Josh Hawley introduced an amendment in the Senate authorizing $10 million to establish an office to provide oversight over U.S. aid to Ukraine, but it failed to pass in the Democratic-led House.

Retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, the former commanding general of U.S. Army Europe who now serves as the NATO senior mentor for logistics, told Newsweek that it's been frustrating to see lawmakers fight over the NDAA. Congress has been able to pass the bill with bipartisan support every year for the past six years.

"The one area that Congress has consistently been able to deliver has been hijacked this time," Hodges said Friday.

Despite lawmakers' differences over authorizing national defense spending on Ukraine, Hodges said he is confident Congress will continue to support Ukraine.

"There's been strong bipartisan support from the beginning for this," he continued. Funding for Ukraine "won't last forever, but leadership from both sides have been supportive because they understand this is not just about Ukraine, it also supports American economic policy."

One way President Joe Biden could get more Americans on board with sending more money to Ukraine is to specify what the U.S. government aims to achieve with that spending.

"The administration has done a good job on so many aspects [in its response to the Ukraine war] but has failed to identify what these final objectives are," Hodges said. Making those goals clear would bolster the argument to continue sending aid, he added.