Montana Republican Rep. Matt Rosendale, a Catholic who introduced the House amendment banning military spending on sex change surgeries, said in a press statement that he voted against the compromise NDAA. He responded to the package’s passage with outrage.
Earlier this year, House Republicans passed a strong NDAA to provide our troops with the needed resources to defend our nation.
Unfortunately, the D.C. Cartel, comprised of Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans, and Joe Biden, rewrote this legislation to use our military to…
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) December 14, 2023
“A vote in favor of this bill is a vote to inflict the radical left’s social experiment on our military and is an insult to our men and women in uniform, which is why I voted no!” Rosendale said.
“Congress has a duty to ensure our military is the most effective fighting force on Earth,” he added. “Unfortunately, the D.C. Cartel, comprised of Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans, and Joe Biden, rewrote this legislation to use our military to implement their radical agenda by including taxpayer funding for abortion, gender reassignment surgeries, drag shows on military bases, and Green New Deal provisions.”
The spending package, which sets the military’s budget for the coming year at $886 billion, had already been passed by the Senate in an 87-13 vote on Wednesday night.
Though it is an annual must-pass spending package that typically coasts through Congress with bipartisan support, this year saw much more controversy over certain provisions in the package such as funding for Ukraine and military spending on abortion and sex change surgeries.