Payam Javan: In a significant development on December 12, the Senate moved closer to finalizing the $886.3 billion defense budget, with a procedural step to end floor debate paving the way for a chamber adoption on December 13.

The process, however, was marked by unusual parliamentary maneuvers. Senators, in 60-percent votes, rejected point-of-order objections related to the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy and the rejection of an amendment extending federal assistance for those exposed to radiation from the nation’s nuclear weapons programs.

Despite expectations, challenges to the extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Section 702 did not materialize during the nearly four-hour debate. The cloture vote of 85-15 officially closed the debate on the 3,093-page National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), setting it for Senate adoption and transfer to the House, potentially by December 13.

Some senators, including Joni Ernst, Josh Hawley, and Ben Ray Luján, criticized the procedural rule as limiting meaningful debate on critical issues within the NDAA, particularly objecting to the Department of Defense’s abortion travel policy.

Ernst’s motion to strike down what she called the “Schumer amendment” failed to gather enough support, falling short by 13 votes in a 53-47 outcome.