WASHINGTON — When lawmakers return to the Capitol on Nov. 9, six days after Election Day, the Armed Services and Budget committees in both chambers will face a short calendar. A $1.15 trillion defense policy bill built around President Donald Trump’s budget request has passed the House but is stalled in the Senate. The stopgap law funding the Pentagon and the rest of the government runs out on Dec. 11.
The House passed H.R. 8800, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027, by a vote of 216 to 212 on July 22, according to the House Clerk’s record of Roll Call 278. Republicans voted 209 to 7 for the bill. Democrats voted 205 to 6 against it, and the chamber’s one independent voted yes.
