Key facts
- House and Senate Armed Services leaders will meet twice during the week of November 16, 2026 to negotiate the NDAA.
- The NDAA passed the House in July by a 216-212 vote.
- Trump is pressing the Senate to pass a $350 billion reconciliation package toward a $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget.
- The reconciliation package includes $48 billion for critical minerals and $17 billion for the Golden Dome missile defense system.
- Senate Democrats said a reconciliation push for defense funds could lead to a government shutdown.
House and Senate leaders of the Armed Services committees are set to meet twice during the week of November 16, 2026 to negotiate the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual Pentagon policy bill, The Hill reported on November 15, 2026. The bill faces an unusually difficult path this year over the Trump administration's $1.15 trillion request, which Democrats want cut by hundreds of billions of dollars and paired with limits on the war against Iran.
The NDAA narrowly passed the House in July in a 216-212 vote. The Trump administration has not moved from its top-line request and wants additional defense funding through a party-line reconciliation package. Trump this past week again urged the Senate to pass a $350 billion military funding package, writing Thursday that the "Radical Democrat Majority in the next Congress" would try to block the investment. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also pushed Congress to use reconciliation.
The reconciliation package remains stalled over how to pay for it, and some Republicans have privately said the $350 billion top line is unlikely to be reached, according to The Hill. The package includes $48 billion for critical minerals, about $103 billion for low-cost autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and counter-unmanned systems, $47 billion for expanded munitions production and $17 billion for the Golden Dome missile defense system.
Senators in both parties said a deal is being crafted to fund the government past a December 11 deadline, but warned that using reconciliation could disrupt the talks. Senator Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Democrats would subtract reconciliation funds from regular appropriations. Senator Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, said the White House is "still wanting to go it alone" and pointed to the Democratic sweep in the midterm elections earlier in November.
Senate Democrats have told Senate Majority Leader John Thune that a reconciliation push for defense funds could lead to a government shutdown. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, said "any kind of tricks or gimmicks certainly threatens a potential agreement." One GOP senator told The Hill that Thune has been discouraging on reconciliation and has outlined judges and government funding as the must-do items.
Democrats in both chambers have called for an end to the Iran war, now more than eight months old, which the report says has led to higher energy prices. Senators Michael Bennet, Bernie Sanders, Chris Van Hollen and Tammy Duckworth said in a joint statement Thursday that they would not accept a short-term spending deal that continues to fund the war. Senator Tim Kaine told reporters Thursday he is working on a provision to block war spending that could be added to the next continuing resolution. Senator Patty Murray, ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Tuesday her conference is weighing options to use the December 11 deadline as leverage.