CV NEWS FEED // The House Freedom Caucus announced it will oppose the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), citing a number of concerns including the bill’s controversial new requirement that women register for the draft.
“President Biden and his Administration must be held accountable for the devastating failures during the withdrawal of Afghanistan,” the Caucus said in a statement. “The National Defense Authorization Act should focus on providing our service members the necessary resources to protect Americans and our country.”
Instead, however, “this Administration’s political posturing puts priorities like funding critical race theory for our service members and forcing our daughters to sign up for the draft ahead of ensuring our military has the resources to put the safety and security of America first,” the statement said.
The Caucus proposed a number of amendments to be voted on, and called on other Republicans to join them in opposing the bill as it stands.
The Caucus’s first priority was “holding the Biden Administration accountable” by refusing to approve taxpayer funding while President Biden “continues to allow Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and General Mark Milley to serve our country.”
All three of the leaders have faced growing calls for their resignation after thousands of Americans and Afghan allies were trapped in Afghanistan after the Biden administration’s botched and chaotic withdrawal. The Taliban, which now holds power in Afghanistan, is reportedly hunting and killing innocent people whom they perceive to be sometime collaborators with the United States.
The failures of the Biden administration’s military leaders “resulted in the loss of 13 young troops, a botched drone strike — taking 10 innocent civilian lives, leaving Americans behind and handing over more than $80 billion worth of equipment to the Taliban,” the Caucus stated.
Second, the Caucus opposed requiring women to register for the draft, and pointed out that “voting for this NDAA would be a vote to force all women, some of whom have no interest in the military, especially in combat roles, to register for Selective Service.”
The Caucus’ third contention with the bill was that it would help turn “our military into a progressive social experiment,” funding the kind of progressive programming and training that the Biden administration has imposed throughout all branches of the military since January.
“House Freedom Caucus opposes spending bills that don’t defund Critical Race Theory (CRT) based training for federal employees,” the Caucus stated. “CRT training is out of step with the law and our values and it has no place in our military. House Freedom Caucus members will not stand by and watch this insidious and deliberately divisive ideology become a normal part of the government, especially in our military.”
In an update Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Chip Roy, R-TX, of the House Freedom Caucus tweeted that Democrats had “just rejected having a VOTE on the floor for ALL amendments [the Caucus] offered” to stop the enrollment of women for the military draft. Roy complained that GOP leadership and “Conservative, Inc.” had failed to intervene.
“A vote for #NDAA is a vote to draft our daughters,” wrote Roy.
