The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed the $858 billion military spending bill, which also repeals a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for military service members. The legislation will now go to President Joe Biden for signing into law.
The Senate approved the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by an 83–11 vote after the measure garnered overwhelming bipartisan support in the House last week.
The NDAA is an annual must-pass bill setting defense spending levels. This year’s NDAA includes a big victory for Republicans and critics of Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
To get Republican support for the 4,408-page bill, Democrats agreed to drop the requirement that military members receive a COVID-19 vaccine but rejected a measure that would have reinstated personnel who were terminated for not complying with the mandate….