The House passed its version of the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday, including an amendment that would repeal the Authorizations for Use of Military Force that allowed for the Iraq war and the Gulf War.

The House also passed a series of amendments aimed at countering the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel and enhancing defense cooperation with Israel.

An effort to repeal the Authorization for Use of Military Force passed by a bipartisan 261-167 vote, with 49 Republicans voting with 212 Democrats in favor of the amendment.

Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he agreed that there should be sunsets on AUMFs, but said that changes should not be made without discussions with key U.S. military leaders about how the repeal would impact U.S. activities and counterterrorism efforts and whether additional authorities would be needed to re-authorize ongoing U.S. operations.

“These are questions that were not asked, and the answers were not given,” Mast said. “We have, I think, probably large agreement on reasons to sunset things, but it should not be done in absence of doing something of this gravity in the proper way.”

Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the AUMFs are “long obsolete” and that keeping them effective “only risk[s] abuse by administrations of either party to sanction military force that Congress has not consented or approved.” 

He said he’s committed to ensuring that the provision remains in the final version of the NDAA agreed to in negotiation with the Senate.

Repeal efforts for the AUMFs have seen substantial momentum in recent previous years.

Other amendments approved by voice votes as part of broader amendment packages aimed to counter international targeting of Israel, including banning the Defense Department from contracting with entities boycotting Israel, instructing the administration to monitor the impact of global arms embargoes, and other sanctions imposed on Israel, and determine how the U.S. can mitigate such issues. They also urged the administration to engage with allies to ensure they do not enforce International Criminal Court arrest warrants against Israeli officials and called on the Pentagon not to participate in defense exhibitions that exclude Israel.

To further reinforce U.S.-Israel defensive cooperation, other amendments would order the creation of a Defense Innovation Unit field office in Israel to engage with the government and private sector there on technological development and mandate that the U.S. and Israel study the possibility of integrating Israel into the U.S. defense industrial base.

Additionally, the House added requirements that the Pentagon report to Congress on the status of integrated air and missile defense cooperation in the Middle East, including lessons learned from recent attacks in the region; on joint U.S.-Israel efforts to increase production of Arrow missile defense interceptors, stockpiles of which were significantly depleted during the Israel-Iran war, including whether further authorizations or funding are needed; on U.S.-Israel joint military exercises, the missions rehearsed and how regional partners can be invited to join; and on the status of pending deliveries of military aircraft and air-launched munitions, including the reasons for any delays and how they can be resolved.

Other amendments would require the U.S, Egypt and Israel to study steps that they can take to block smuggling into Gaza from tunnels in Egypt or via the Mediterranean Sea and the Pentagon to report to Congress on the U.S.-Bahrain partnership agreement and possibilities for expanding it to include other regional allies.

Additional amendments seek to support Iranian dissidents and counter the Iranian regime: requiring a strategy on encouraging and enticing top Iranian officials to defect; requiring the Pentagon to help develop technologies to counter internet blockages imposed by Iran and other adversaries; requiring a strategy to counter Iran and Hezbollah’s operations in South America; and expanding reporting requirements regarding Iran’s terrorism strategy, proxies, relationship with Russia, supply chains and weapons production capabilities.

Another amendment would require the Pentagon to quickly release all files on the Iranian proxy attack on the Tower 22 facility in Jordan that killed U.S. service members in January 2024.

An additional amendment would award a medal to servicemembers involved in the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Two amendments by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), which aimed to block U.S. support for Ukraine and Taiwan, were resoundingly defeated 372-60 and 422-9, respectively. An amendment proposed by Greene to strip out programs supporting Israel from the bill did not receive consideration or a vote on the floor.

Greene made similar efforts to block funding for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan during consideration earlier this year of 2026 Pentagon funding, which were defeated along similar lines.

The amended NDAA passed the House by a 231-196 vote, with just 17 Democrats voting for the bill as most voiced objections to provisions relating to transgender medical care and renewable energy, among other issues. The Senate is considering its own version of the NDAA this week as well.
Among a slew of other issues, a series of proposed amendments aimed at cracking down on Turkey were not approved for consideration on the House floor.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) on Tuesday warned that the war in Gaza appears to be turning into a “quagmire” akin to the Iraq war, without clear objectives or any realistic end point.

The pro-Israel Democrat has grown more vocal lately about his criticisms of the Israeli government and how it has been handling the war in Gaza, as concern about the humanitarian situation in the enclave has mounted on both sides of the aisle. He has also continued to offer support for Israel and emphasize that Hamas is primarily responsible for the war in Gaza.

“I want to see Israel secure the release of hostages and end the war, because as long as the war persists, there’s a real potential — our experience with Afghanistan and Iraq tells us that wars in the Middle East can morph into quagmires that have no clear end in sight that have no clearly defined strategic objectives,” Torres said in an interview with The Bulwark.

“I feel this is a quagmire that could persist indefinitely with no clear end in sight,” he continued, a situation he said would limit the Israeli economy and expansion of the Abraham Accords. He said the Israeli government has failed to outline clear objectives for the war. “It feels like a quagmire reminiscent of the war in Iraq.”

He said that Israel has been “extraordinarily effective” in its operations against Hezbollah and Iran, “but [I] have concerns about the war in Gaza.” 

Torres said that “war becomes a process of mutual dehumanization which we’re seeing in real time. There should be space in the American heart for the humanity of both Israelis and Palestinians.”

He said that Hamas is the “central cause” and “primarily responsible for the suffering that has been unleashed since Oct. 7.” 

But he also said that the “humanitarian crisis in Gaza is simply and morally unacceptable and all parties including Israel and the United States must do their part to ease the hardship and hunger that has taken hold in the Gaza strip. To me, it is wrong to deny or downplay the crisis.”

He rejected arguments that he said he’d seen from Israeli officials that the crisis in Gaza is purely Hamas propaganda, and said that he can’t deny to constituents concerned about the issue that it is happening.

The correct response, he continued, is “not to downplay it, but it’s to tell our constituents that we are doing everything that we can to ease suffering among Palestinian civilians and children. That the war is not against the Palestinian people. It’s against Hamas.”