In a late afternoon vote that garnered very little attention in the corporate media — and predictably didn’t spark any of the handwringing about costs that pundits typically apply to social programs for the poor and working class — 40 Democrats and Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) joined nearly every Senate Republican on Wednesday to send a $717 billion military spending bill to President Donald Trump’s desk.
The legislation — formally titled the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019 — is now “on track to become law before the start of the fiscal year for the first time since the fiscal 1997 bill,” The Hill reported. Trump is expected to sign the measure before the end of the week.
The final Senate vote tally was 87-10 (view the full roll call below).
As the Washington Post’s Jeff Stein noted on Twitter, the legislation will hit Trump’s desk at a time when “military spending, adjusted for inflation, is higher than at any point outside the Iraq War.”
Among notable Democratic yes votes:
— Tom Carper (DE), who faces @KerriHarrisDE in a primary;
— Minority Leader Schumer
— Possible 2020 hopefuls Sherrod Brown (OH), Cory Booker (NJ)Military spending, adjusted for inflation, is higher than at any point outside the Iraq War: pic.twitter.com/NcoTmurOi4
— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) August 2, 2018
Overall, the 2019 NDAA will hike military spending by $82 billion. The Intercept’s Alex Emmons has noted that with $80 billion a year, you could make public colleges and universities in the US tuition-free.”
Here are the ten senators who voted against the spending measure: Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mike Lee (R-Utah.), and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).
And here are the 40 Democrats who voted to send the NDAA to Trump’s desk:
Our most important fundraising appeal of the year
December is the most critical time of year for Truthout, because our nonprofit news is funded almost entirely by individual donations from readers like you. So before you navigate away, we ask that you take just a second to support Truthout with a tax-deductible donation.
This year is a little different. We are up against a far-reaching, wide-scale attack on press freedom coming from the Trump administration. 2025 was a year of frightening censorship, news industry corporate consolidation, and worsening financial conditions for progressive nonprofits across the board.
We can only resist Trump’s agenda by cultivating a strong base of support. The right-wing mediasphere is funded comfortably by billionaire owners and venture capitalist philanthropists. At Truthout, we have you.
We’ve set an ambitious target for our year-end campaign — a goal of $250,000 to keep up our fight against authoritarianism in 2026. Please take a meaningful action in this fight: make a one-time or monthly donation to Truthout before December 31. If you have the means, please dig deep.