Senate crafts defense bill without abortion drama

Senate Republicans won’t be reviving a fight over the Pentagon’s abortion policy as the chamber negotiates this year’s annual defense bill.

Next week, the Armed Services Committee will approve the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets the priorities of the U.S. military, without the drama that accompanied last year’s legislation.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), a committee member, spent 10 months delaying the promotions of hundreds of senior military officers in protest of the Pentagon policy, which pays for the travel expenses of service women seeking abortions, and the bill was seen as one possible off-ramp to the crisis.

Republicans, in a bid to get Tuberville to drop his blockade, attempted to repeal the policy, but it failed in last year’s committee markup.

This year will be much less contentious. Republicans still consider the policy an unconstitutional attempt to get around the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits federal dollars for abortions, but it was not on the radar of any senator the Washington Examiner spoke to on Tuesday.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who put forward the amendment to repeal the policy, said she had no plans to do so this time around.

“Probably not this year. I mean, we tried it. Nothing has changed on that,” she said.

As for Tuberville, he dropped his hold on military promotions in December under immense pressure from members of his own party. He has not decided whether to put forward Ernst’s amendment but indicated he would not force the issue.

“I’m not gonna do anything unless I got a chance,” he said. “There’s no reason just to jump in front of the bus without having an opportunity.”

The aversion is, in part, because Republicans only control the House, meaning they have no legislative path to forcing the Pentagon’s hand. The department has defended the policy as protecting the abortion rights of servicewomen stationed in states with restrictive laws.

“We’re going to have to wait until we take over the Senate and get Trump in the White House,” Tuberville said.

The other factor is political. The optics of another push at repeal, picking a fight with the military in pursuit of an issue that has become a political liability for Republicans, are only worse in an election year.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) plans to hold a series of votes on reproductive rights, the first on contraception access on Wednesday. He told reporters he will bring up a bill on in vitro fertilization “very soon.”

Democrats warn both could be curtailed after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

“You know, there are some fights that are worth having and winning. There are some fights that are worth having and losing, but there are damn few fights really worth losing this big, probably,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), another Armed Services Committee Republican, said.

“Because it doesn’t serve a purpose. It doesn’t serve an electoral purpose or a policy outcome right now,” he added. “If Tommy’s not talking, I don’t know anybody that is.”

The issue has not gone away completely. The House Appropriations Committee unveiled a defense spending bill on Tuesday that would bar the Pentagon from using any dollars for the policy.

But in all likelihood, the measure will get removed in negotiations with the Democratic-led Senate if it gets through the House.

For Senate Republicans, the chief focus is raising defense spending. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, unveiled a plan last week that would increase the military’s budget by $55 billion in fiscal 2025.

That does not mean culture war amendments won’t make their way into the bill, however. In last year’s NDAA, Republicans won amendments on gender and race, including a cap on the salaries of diversity officers.

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“We most certainly are going to watch and see what they’re doing, and we’re going to try to limit their ability to impose their social agenda,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), the top Republican on the Armed Services Cyber subcommittee, said of the Biden administration, “but there’s a lot more focus, I think right now, on trying to bring up the top end numbers and getting the tools that we need for these young men and women in uniform.”

The Senate Armed Services Committee approved the NDAA around the same time last year, with final passage in December. It has passed Congress every year for the last six decades.