On Tuesday, July 14, the Senate voted 50-46 to block the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2027 — falling 10 votes short of the 60 needed to advance it. The vote was almost entirely along party lines. The NDAA authorizes $1.14 trillion for the Defense Department — what Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) called "the largest defense budget ever proposed in our nation's history" — and it includes a 3.6% pay raise for troops along with funding for military housing, healthcare, and childcare. The bill has passed every year for more than six decades. Tuesday's vote was the second failed attempt in two weeks.

1. Democrats Blocked It to Force Iran War Oversight (Kaine, Duckworth, Schumer)

Congress has already voted the Iran war illegal. Democrats say they won't fund it without guardrails.

Passing the NDAA now would fund an unauthorized war with no oversight. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer put it directly: "The NDAA cannot become a permission slip for that recklessness that we see occurring in Iran. Donald Trump does not get to drag the American people deeper into a war he cannot explain."

Both chambers told Trump to end the war. He ignored them. In June, the House passed a resolution directing the president to remove US forces from Iran, 215-208, with four Republicans joining Democrats. The Senate followed, 50-48, with another four Republicans joining. It was the first time both chambers passed such a resolution under the 1973 War Powers Act. Trump didn't comply.

Democrats pushed an amendment to bar NDAA funds from the Iran war. Duckworth led the effort. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) put the Democratic position plainly: "The NDAA, in my view, has become a referendum on the Iran war." Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said Democrats won't take up the bill without "significant discussion about a war that Congress has now declared is illegal."

Democrats also objected to the defense spending topline. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) voted against the bill in committee because "the topline on this thing is just ridiculous." Sen. Angus King (I-ME) said the defense increase is four times the domestic increase — a ratio he called a break from the bipartisan norms that have held the NDAA together for six decades.

2. But Republicans Say Democrats Are Putting Troops at Risk (Wicker, Banks, Scott)

The NDAA and the Iran war are separate questions — and Democrats are using troops' pay as a bargaining chip.

This blockade is "a new low" in Senate history. Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-MS) called the move "unprecedented" and said it reflects Schumer's decision "not to cooperate at all because so much of this has been done on a bipartisan basis."

The bill passed committee 18-9 in June, with Democratic votes. Republicans say Democrats shifted their position after a bipartisan committee process — moving the goalposts right as the bill reached the floor.

The blockade delays troops' pay, housing, healthcare, and childcare. Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) said blocking the bill amounts to "playing games" with troop support. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said the country needs to "come together and act in the best interest" of a strong military.

3. The GOP War Critics Voted for the Bill Anyway (Collins, Paul, Murkowski, Cassidy)

They think the Iran war is wrong. They don't think blocking the defense bill will stop it.

GOP war critics backed the NDAA anyway. Susan Collins (R-ME), Rand Paul (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) had all voted in June for the war powers resolution directing Trump to end the war — and voted to advance the NDAA on Tuesday.

Blocking the NDAA doesn't end the war. It delays troops' pay and benefits. The bill covers all military operations and all service members, not just the Iran conflict. Troops who had no say in the decision to fight still need a pay raise and housing.

Where This Lands

Democrats have 46 votes to block the NDAA indefinitely. It won't move without changes. Republicans have 50 — enough to pass almost anything else in the Senate, but not enough to break a filibuster. Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) suggested the path forward is a budget topline deal first, after which the NDAA "can revive quickly." Kaine's office announced Democrats are forcing a new war powers vote for July 15, putting every senator back on record about a war their own chamber already called illegal.

Sources