Senate Passes Defense Bill by Wide Margin

“The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed an $886 billion defense bill that would set Pentagon policy and provide a 5.2 percent pay raise for military personnel, defying the demands of hard-right Republicans who had tried and failed to attach a raft of deeply partisan restrictions on abortion, transgender care and diversity initiatives,” the New York Times reports.

“The measure, the result of bipartisan negotiations between the two chambers, has prompted a backlash in the House, where many Republicans are angry at their leaders for agreeing to drop a number of provisions that hard-liners attached over the summer.”