The Big Story 

The “big, beautiful bill” is heading to President Trump’s desk and it includes $150 billion for the Defense Department.

© Greg Nash

House Republicans passed the core of Trump’s domestic policy agenda Thursday afternoon — including sweeping tax cuts, a crackdown on immigration, a boost for fossil fuels and huge cuts to Medicaid — overcoming months of bitter infighting on Capitol Hill to deliver what could be the defining legislation of Trump’s second term.

The 218-214 vote came together after more than a year of intense planning by GOP lawmakers, weeks of scrambling to reconcile the conflicting visions among House and Senate Republicans, and days of last-minute lobbying to cajole holdouts in both chambers to get on board.

The bill gives $150 billion in new defense spending for priorities like shipbuilding, the “Golden Dome” missile defense project and backfilling U.S. precision missiles and munitions. Another $150 billion will go towards a border wall, immigration enforcement and deportations. 

Of the total dollars for defense, $113 billion is mandatory funding for the military. When combined with the Pentagon’s $848 billion budget request, released last week, that pushes military spending to the highest it’s been in recent history, close to $1 trillion.

The vote followed a marathon, historic speech by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who commandeered the chamber for 8 hours and 44 minutes to rail against the GOP’s megabill and delay the final vote — surpassing the previous record of 8 hours and 32 minutes set by then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in 2021 as a way to delay action on the Democrats’ social spending and climate package.

In the end, two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), joined all Democrats in voting against the legislation, which was approved by the Senate two days earlier.

Read the full report at TheHill.com.

Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. There will be no newsletter tomorrow due to the July 4th holiday but we will be back Monday.

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