Elfreth Votes Against Annual Defense Bill

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congresswoman Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, voted against the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on the House floor.

"After nine months of bipartisan, good-faith negotiations in committee, I am deeply disappointed in the hard right turn that this legislation has taken. I hoped to vote for the NDAA in order to deliver new supports for our servicemembers and their families, protect collective bargaining rights for DoD civilian employees, and deliver millions in support for Ukraine. In Maryland's Third District, we secured wins, including support for critical University Affiliated Research Centers like Johns Hopkins' Applied Physics Lab, requirements for our military academies to address the very real threats of extreme weather and sea-level rise, and $10 million to better track suicide, sexual assault, harassment, and domestic abuse in the military," said Congresswoman Elfreth. "However, this year's NDAA provided no protections against U.S. troops being used on U.S. civilians. As the President continues to deploy the National Guard on our neighbors in D.C. and threatens to send troops into Maryland, Congress must reassert our authority and serve as a check on the President's powers. The Legislative Branch must also fulfill our duties to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch as the President fires generals and admirals for a lack of loyalty. Today's legislation provided no such check or oversight. It is shameful that the NDAA - one of the last remaining bipartisan pieces of legislation that has passed annually in Congress for over 60 years - has been politicized."

Today's version of the NDAA provided no protections against U.S. troops being used on U.S. civilians. Elfreth hasspoken outagainst President Trump's police actions in D.C. and has co-sponsored the Safeguarding the Use of the National Guard (SUN) Act to require the Administration to be accountable to American taxpayers for National Guard deployments outside natural disasters. The legislation also does not provide necessary oversight of the President's sudden, politically charged firings of generals and admirals in charge of America's combatant commands and military services without explanation or plans for replacement.

Elfreth also spoke out on the House floor, pleading with her Republican colleagues to keep the NDAA bipartisan. You can view her full remarks HERE.

Elfreth worked tirelessly across the aisle to craft the strongest possible version of the legislation in support of our servicemembers. In all, 17 of Elfreth's provisions were included in the base text of the NDAA, and Elfreth successfully introduced 12 provisions as amendments, including one floor amendment that raises the maximum number of years of service for the Funded Legal Education Program eligibility, allowing more enlisted members the opportunity to become lawyers in the military and for the military to retain its top talent. Elfreth-led priorities in the NDAA can be referenced HERE.

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