US House Narrowly Passes Record $1.15 Trillion Defence Budget Amid Iran Conflict

The United States House of Representatives narrowly passed the annual defence policy bill on Wednesday, authorising a record $1.15 trillion for the Pentagon amid the ongoing conflict with Iran. Despite typically enjoying strong bipartisan support, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2027 cleared the lower chamber by a vote of 216 to 212, signalling deepening political polarisation under President Donald Trump’s administration. The bill, which now moves to the Senate for approval, provides approximately $250 billion more in funding than the previous year’s NDAA and includes a 5% to 7% pay rise for military personnel. ‘This legislation delivers a long-overdue pay raise for our brave warfighters and strengthens our nuclear deterrence and missile defence — including the construction of the Golden Dome,’ said House Speaker Mike Johnson. The Trump-proposed Golden Dome missile defence system is designed to protect the US homeland, modelled on Israel’s Iron Dome. The House Armed Services Committee stated the bill would help rebuild ‘depleted stockpiles’ as the US has consumed vast quantities of munitions during the war against Iran. However, Democrats voiced strong opposition. Congressman Jerry Nadler said he could not vote to give Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ‘$1.15 trillion for their runaway military spending and irresponsible actions,’ calling the NDAA ‘an expensive and bad bill that funds an illegal war and undermines our democracy.’ The debate intensified after Trump’s ‘SAVE America Act,’ which imposes new national voting restrictions, was added to the NDAA through a procedural manoeuvre, sparking Democratic outrage and potentially complicating the bill’s path through the Senate. Further controversy has surrounded a provision in the NDAA calling for increased cooperation between the US armed forces and Israel.