These Four Democrats Voted for Republicans' Controversial NDAA

The U.S. House passed the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Friday mostly along party lines with four Democrats supporting the controversial amendments made by the GOP.

Democratic Representatives Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico, and Don Davis of North Carolina voted in favor of the defense bill, which addressed hot-button issues such as abortion access and transgender care for military personnel.

The must-pass bill sets funding for the Department of Defense (DOD) as well as its policy agenda. The legislation was passed by a near party-line vote of 219 to 210. Only four Republicans voted against the bill, including Arizona Representatives Andy Biggs and Eli Crane, Ken Buck of Colorado, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky.

The NDAA authorizes around $86 billion for national defense programs along with a 5.2 percent pay increase for service members, according to a fact sheet from the House Armed Services Committee.

Provisions in the bill include improving overall military readiness and missile defense capabilities, promoting technological innovation, and countering China's influence.

Meanwhile, bill amendments pushed by some conservatives touched on access to abortion and transgender healthcare and diversity and inclusion programs. The NDAA will now be sent to the Democratic-led Senate.

"As a U.S. Air Force veteran who served in the ranks, I am committed to supporting the men and women who work to keep the American people safe and secure. I am equally committed to ensuring all servicemembers have access to health care. The FY 2024 National Defense Authorization Act is a work in progress, with much work ahead," said Congressman Davis in a statement emailed to Newsweek on Friday by his press office.

The statement continued: "As negotiations continue, I look forward to supporting enhancements to the bill. We must pass a strong bipartisan bill that works for our brave men and women who put their lives on the line to serve our country."

In a statement emailed to Newsweek and posted on her website, Perez said that she voted against Republicans' harmful amendments, but added that she voted in favor of the overall bill to honor the "obligation to protect our citizens, our borders, and our brave service members who put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms."

"As the legislation moves to the Senate and both chambers work towards compromise, I look forward to voting on a final version of the NDAA – one that fully funds our military and national defense while understanding that threats to our nation originate from our adversaries, not from a woman's freedom to make decisions about her own reproductive health or from LGBTQ+ Americans," she said.

During a U.S. House session on Thursday, GOP Representative Matt Rosendale of Montana expressed concern about funding gender reassignment surgeries for military personnel.

"We have drag shows taking place at Malmstrom Air Force Base. There are 150 ICBM missiles that are being controlled by that Air Force Base and by these individuals. I do not want someone who doesn't know if they are a man or a woman with their hand on a missile button," Rosendale said on Thursday.

The Republican expressed his opposition towards "anything that doesn't contribute to making our fighting force the most effective" and said that he will not ask Montana residents or the United States to allocate funding towards transgender care.

His office reported on Wednesday that he filed and testified in support of some amendments, including one that bans TRICARE, a health care program for active service members, from covering sex reassignment surgeries and hormone treatments for transgender individuals.

GOP Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene shared a similar anti-trans sentiment in the military before when the DOD launched initiatives last year that involved carrying out drag performances to attract new recruits.

The U.S. Navy launched a pilot program that ran for a few months in which it used a drag queen as a "digital ambassador" to reach out to young people who might be interested in joining the Navy.

The move outraged Greene who said at the time, "I will NOT vote to fund ANY Trans programs of ANY kind especially of medical nature in our NDAA [National Defense Authorization Act]. ZERO. Our military has only one purpose, the defense of our country. Our military needs to train men for war, not turn men into fake women," Greene tweeted at the time. The NDAA includes a series of federal laws that specify the DOD's annual budget."

Newsweek reached out by email to the communications offices of Representatives Vasquez and Golden for comment.

Update 7/14/2023, 1:00 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include additional information.

Update 7/14/2023, 4:15 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include Perez's remarks.