Southeast Asia Information Port News (www.dnyxxg.com) – US President Trump signed the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act at the White House on March 18.
The act authorizes approximately $901 billion in defense spending, increases US military personnel salaries by 3.8%, and includes several Trump administration priorities such as reducing diversity and climate programs, improving weapons procurement efficiency, and granting emergency border military powers. It also requires the US to maintain its troop presence in Europe and continue providing military aid to Ukraine.
US media believe that this National Defense Authorization Act largely echoes the recent National Security Strategy report released by the White House in its strategic wording, but it sets up several institutional barriers regarding "enforcing borders" and "regional priorities."
The act stipulates that unless prior consultation with NATO allies is sought and troop withdrawal is deemed to be in the US national interest, the Pentagon must maintain at least 76,000 US troops and major military equipment in Europe. The act also authorizes $400 million annually for the next two years to produce weapons and equipment to aid Ukraine.
The Atlantic Council, a US think tank, analyzed that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDA) is essentially "applying the brakes" to prevent Washington from shifting resources away from the Euro-Atlantic region on European issues.
Furthermore, the bill unusually repealed the war authorizations for the 2003 Iraq War and the 1991 Gulf War, but did not repeal the 2001 War on Terror authorization. The Associated Press believes that against the backdrop of the Trump administration's recent increased pressure on Venezuela, this move signals Congress's attempt to regain some war decision-making power.
Foreign Policy magazine commented that the NDA presents an "intriguing combination": both parties in Congress responded on multiple fronts to the White House's attempt to unilaterally reshape the deployment of US global military forces, emphasizing Congress's oversight power through the bill. (End)
