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One of the most vocal senators seeking changes is Ted Cruz. The Texas Republican has zeroed in on aviation safety, calling for new restrictions on military aircraft operating near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport following a deadly January collision involving a military helicopter and a commercial passenger jet. The crash, which raised serious concerns about airspace coordination near the nation’s capital, has fueled renewed scrutiny of Pentagon flight operations.
Cruz has pushed to rewrite Section 373 of the NDAA and replace it with his own ROTR Act, arguing that the bill should prioritize stronger aviation safety protections rather than expanding unrelated spending. He released a campaign-style video from a Monday press conference, pressing colleagues to address the risks head-on instead of rubber-stamping a bloated package.
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But Senate leadership appears uninterested in reopening the bill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune dismissed the likelihood of Cruz’s amendment advancing at this stage. “It’d be really hard to undo the [NDAA] now,” Thune told reporters, signaling that leadership wants to muscle the bill through without further disruption.
The Senate’s move follows action in the House, where the Pentagon funding package passed last week amid growing conservative backlash. As The Gateway Pundit previously reported, 18 Republicans broke ranks to vote against the bill, while 115 Democrats voted in favor—an alignment that raised eyebrows among grassroots conservatives.
House critics argue the legislation sends nearly $1 billion overseas, including hundreds of millions earmarked for Ukraine, while continuing to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and transgender-related policies inside the military. They also slammed the sheer size of the bill, which stretches more than 3,000 pages and was delivered to lawmakers just days before the vote.
One of the most blunt rebukes came from Rep. Tim Burchett, who posted a video to X explaining why he voted “no.” Burchett accused Washington “war pimps” of pushing endless foreign spending while ignoring the will of American voters.
Below is Burchett’s statement, quoted in full:
Burchett: Big vote tonight was the NDAA, National Defense Authorization Act, and it was $900.6 billion. There’s money in there for, of course, Ukraine, $800 million total, and some other things, money in there for recognizing an Indian tribe out of North Carolina— has nothing to do with national security— Syria, money, Iraq. But we just got to quit this stuff. Somebody’s, America’s got to start paying attention.
And the Ukraine stuff’s not even, Trump didn’t even ask for that. You’ve got the war pimps that push for this stuff. And they always will tell you, Oh, it’s, “Burchett, man, they’re gonna spend all that money here buying those missiles.” You know, is that what we’re basing our votes on is they’re going to buy implements to kill other people on? I’m all for getting rid of our enemies, but this is just too much, way too much, and things are just not what they appear. We need to wake up. I voted no. Over 100 Democrats voted to pass this. That ought to tell you right there what this is about. Got some liberal stuff tucked in there, and it’s over 3000 pages. We get it on Sunday, and we’re voting on it today. There’s no way, no way, we will ever know what was in there, and just— anyway, frustrated, we’ll keep fighting. Thank y’all for sending me here.
As the NDAA barrels toward final passage, conservatives warn that the pattern is all too familiar: massive spending bills rushed through Congress, bipartisan cover for controversial provisions, and little time for lawmakers—or the public—to fully understand what’s inside. With nearly $900 billion on the line, critics say the real question isn’t whether Washington can pass the NDAA, but whether anyone is still willing to slow down and put America’s priorities first.
