NDAA Update Oct 29, 2026: Inside the breakdown of Trump's $1.5 trillion Pentagon plan

Inside the breakdown of Trump's $1.5 trillion Pentagon plan

The Washington Post · Oct 29, 2026

Noah Robertson reports that The Washington Post spoke with 30 people at the center of national security in Congress, including 20 lawmakers on committees overseeing the Pentagon. With just over 20 legislative days left in the year, lawmakers are deadlocked on the major defense policy and spending bills. The NDAA has advanced for 65 consecutive years; this year it failed to advance in the Senate and barely passed the House, where more Republicans voted against it than Democrats voted for it; the two chambers are negotiating a final version with votes expected later this fall. Most lawmakers said the annual defense appropriations bill is at greater risk of failing. The administration split its $1.5 trillion request into $1.15 trillion needing Democratic support and $350 billion meant to pass with GOP votes alone; Republicans haven't agreed on a strategy for the party-line share. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has urged Congress to approve an additional $67 billion for the Iran war and other operations; nearly all Senate Democrats blocked it. CENTCOM estimated the Iran conflict cost more than $47 billion as of mid-October. Lawmakers of both parties described Hegseth's adversarial behavior — withholding information, attacking Democrats and some Republicans — as straining bipartisan dealmaking. Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.): "The people who have been around for a few days have seen what normal looks like. We're not living in normal." Pentagon spokesman Joel Valdez: "Lawmakers understand exactly how critical the National Defense Authorization Act and defense appropriations are to military readiness." Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) faulted Democrats; Sen. Angus King (I-Maine): "it takes a lot of nerve." There's still time for a deal, but as the midterms approach, frustration over Iran — and Hegseth — has stymied the president's agenda.