U.S. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks at a press briefing on the White House on Dec. 12, 2022.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
A “small group” of House Republicans have “essentially created a trap” by loading the National Defense Authorization Act with a wide selection of domestic-focused amendments, U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday.
“This laws is rarely attending to the president’s desk,” Sullivan said in a Sunday appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “This must be an area where politics stops and national security starts.”
Sullivan was referring to myriad amendments recommend by House Republicans. Those include efforts that may end various diversity initiatives inside the Defense Department, would limit active-duty transgender servicemembers from accessing gender-affirming care, and maybe most controversially, would prevent the Defense Department from reimbursing or paying for abortion-related expenses for active-duty servicemembers.
“What’s real is the crucial capabilities, technologies and fundamental social support for our troops and their families. That is what this all must have been focused on, not these domestic, political issues,” Sullivan said on ABC’s “This Week.”
But GOP leaders have given their tacit approval to the amendments, making Sullivan’s characterization more nebulous.
The NDAA is the omnibus U.S. bill that funds the Department of Defense and is widely considered to be one of the crucial critical pieces of laws. The bill is now headed to the Senate, where Democratic senators will likely act to remove a lot of those most controversial amendments.
“Ultimately, I don’t think it would succeed because I feel wisdom will prevail,” Sullivan said.
