(Washington) The American Congress is preparing to vote on Wednesday on the United States defense strategy for 2026, with several clauses aimed at maintaining the American presence in Europe, contrary to recent signals from the White House.
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The NDAA, a text voted on annually by Congress, determines the areas on which the United States should, according to parliamentarians, concentrate as a priority for the following year in terms of defense.
The 2026 version, more than 3,000 pages long, recommends a global budget of more than 900 billion dollars, an increase of five billion compared to the previous year.
For the Republican President of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, the text makes it possible to “keep the promise” launched by Donald Trump of “peace through strength”.
On his
PHOTO ELIZABETH FRANTZ, REUTERS
Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson
The “speaker” also touted the planned elimination of “$20 billion in obsolete weapons, ineffective programs, and bureaucracy within the Pentagon,” as well as the elimination of programs in favor of diversity or against climate change.
400 million to Ukraine
Mike Johnson, however, does not mention other elements of the text less popular among Republican elected officials, such as aid to Ukraine.
Because the NDAA plans for 2026 some $400 million in purchases by Washington of American military equipment for Kyiv, in order to continue to fight against the Russian invasion.
The Pentagon, under the aegis of Secretary Pete Hegseth, is trying to refocus the United States’ defense strategy on the Americas, with several strikes in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean against boats accused of drug trafficking, against a backdrop of increased tensions with Venezuela.
But the bill drawn up by Congress provides for the maintenance of the presence of the United States on European soil. It prevents the Pentagon from reducing the number of American soldiers deployed in Europe below 76,000 without justification to Congress.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump violently attacked Europe, which according to him is “falling into disrepair” because of certain “stupid” leaders and a migration policy that is too “politically correct”.
The American president also maintained pressure on Ukraine, ordering it to hold elections and insisting that Moscow had “always had” the military advantage.
“America Last”
The American president reiterated, in cruder terms, the argument put forward by his government in its “National Security Strategy”, a document published last week which anticipates the “civilizational erasure” of Europe.
Donald Trump also joked about the Europeans’ dependence on American military protection, saying “NATO calls me ‘dad'”, and harshly criticized the helplessness of the Europeans in the face of the conflict in Ukraine.
Faced with this distrust towards the traditional allies of the United States, the NDAA 2026 is a counter position from elected officials, Republicans and Democrats alike, who want to reaffirm the Atlantic Alliance.
Other Republican parliamentarians, with an isolationist tendency, denounced the text.
“Financing foreign aid and wars abroad is putting America last, and that is no longer excusable,” radical right elected official Marjorie Taylor Greene declared on X, announcing that she would vote against the NDAA.
Still, the bill is expected to be approved in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, with a vote expected around 4 p.m. ET. If adopted, it would then head to the Senate which would in turn have to approve it before the end of the calendar year.
