Rep. Garamendi on the 2026 NDAA: Ukraine Support, Military Housing Crisis, and Trump's Dangerous Militarization
A conversation with the veteran congressman on the National Defense Authorization Act's most critical provisions - and what got left behind
The House Armed Services Committee finished markup on the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act just before midnight last week, completing work on what Representative John Garamendi (D-CA) calls "a very complex and very comprehensive piece of legislation" that "covers virtually everything the military does and should do."
But beyond the trillion-dollar topline, this year's NDAA reveals sharp battle lines over everything from healthcare access for military families to the Trump administration's unprecedented militarization of domestic immigration enforcement. In a wide-ranging interview, the longtime Armed Services Committee member laid out the key wins, devastating losses, and dangerous precedents emerging from this year's defense bill.
Strong Bipartisan Support for Ukraine Remains
Despite political headwinds, Garamendi highlighted one clear victory: overwhelming committee support for continued Ukraine aid. Only 10 of the 57 committee members voted against providing support to Ukraine across multiple amendments covering munitions, direct support, and what Garamendi described as "some nasty words about Putin and Russia."
"The policy is very clear, at least from the committee. We're supporting Ukraine," he emphasized, noting the strong bipartisan consensus that has held firm even as political dynamics shift elsewhere.
Healthcare Access: A Major Setback for Military Families
Where Democrats suffered their biggest defeat was on healthcare provisions - losses that Garamendi directly tied to lingering "DEI residue" from Trump administration culture war priorities.
"We did not succeed in making it absolutely clear that healthcare is all kinds of healthcare, including access to women's healthcare, including contraception," Garamendi explained. The contradiction is stark: "Republicans don't want contraception. At the same time, they don't want access to abortion... So no contraception. Then what about abortion?"
The bill now includes a complete ban on gender-affirming care for anyone covered by TRICARE - extending far beyond active duty to include spouses, children, and retired veterans. Democrats plan to continue this fight on the House floor, where they hope for better odds than in the conservative-leaning committee.
The $130 Billion Military Housing Crisis Gets Worse
One of the most pressing quality-of-life issues facing service members got significantly worse under Trump policies. Garamendi, who spent eight years on the Readiness Subcommittee fighting these problems, revealed a shocking detail: "Trump administration came in and swiped a billion dollars out of barrack improvements for the barracks in Texas and build a border wall or give it to ICE."
With over $130 billion needed to upgrade antiquated barracks housing everyone from new recruits to colonels, that billion-dollar raid represents a direct attack on military readiness. "It just disappeared into that black hole," Garamendi said, even as the new reconciliation package allocates $170 billion for immigration enforcement.
The Militarization of Immigration: "A Bunch of Thugs"
That $170 billion figure - roughly 20% of the entire Defense Department budget - comes from Trump's reconciliation package, not the NDAA, which particularly alarmed Garamendi. "What are they gonna do with it? Well, they're gonna build the biggest police force in America," he warned.
The problems go far beyond size. Unlike established police departments that have standards for training, uniforms, weapons, and accountability following the George Floyd reforms, this massive ICE expansion comes with "no requirements that the police, that is the ICE agents, be trained and no requirements about their uniform, no requirements about the weapons they carry."
Garamendi pointed to the recent Southern California raids where a disabled veteran and US citizen was arrested simply for trying to go to work, detained for three days, and pepper sprayed.
Posse Comitatus Under Attack
The Trump administration's assault on the separation between military and domestic policing prompted several critical NDAA amendments. The Posse Comitatus Act, dating to the 1800s, establishes that "the American military is not a domestic police force and cannot be a domestic police force."
An amendment by Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) attempted to clarify Posse Comitatus enforcement, though the fight continues.
Politicizing the Military: "Absolutely Wrong"
Beyond domestic policing concerns, Trump has systematically undermined civil-military boundaries in other dangerous ways. Garamendi cited a particularly egregious example: at a rally at Fort Liberty, Trump "instructed the colonel, I want you to ask each one of these military personnel, whether they support me or not. And if they do, they can be behind me as I give a speech and they can wear MAGA hats."
"This is absolutely wrong. This is the political involvement of the military," Garamendi said. "If that were allowed to continue, the American military could be used for political purposes so that Trump, or the next president, or the next president after that could use the military for political power or to maintain or to obtain be a coup."
The Nuclear Arms Race Accelerates
Beyond the main defense budget, Garamendi revealed that the reconciliation bill contains $150 billion for nuclear weapons programs - "a threefold increase" in nuclear security agency funding that could mean $20-30 billion specifically for building new nuclear weapons.
He particularly criticized the $200 billion Sentinel Program to replace Minuteman missiles: "Those minuteman missiles can be and must, should be just reconditioned, maintained... they'll last another 15 years. So we don't need to spend that money right now. We could spend that money on barracks. We could spend that money on healthcare systems for the military and their spouses."
Trump's "Golden Dome" Delusion
The committee also grappled with Trump's expensive fantasy of building a missile defense system for America. "There is nobody in the military and nobody outside the military that believes that we could build a golden dome for America," Garamendi stated flatly.
The congressman explained why Trump's Israel envy misses the point: "Israel might fit in Manhattan" and even their Iron Dome required massive US and NATO support. For America, such a system would be "impossible... horribly, horribly expensive" and would "set off a new round of armament."
As Garamendi noted: "You can take a nuclear weapon, put it in a container, put it on a ship into the harbor of New York... Nobody knows until it goes, boom."
The Culture War's Real Cost: Driving Out Talent
The Republican obsession with culture war issues is having measurable impacts on military effectiveness. Three of the four women leading major military branches - including the Chief of Naval Operations and Coast Guard Commandant - were "summarily fired" in Trump's first weeks.
"By my count, 52% of the American population are women. Voluntary army, voluntary military. What this administration has done is send out a signal to 52% of our population that you're not welcome in the military," Garamendi observed.
The targeting extends beyond gender. "There were colonels, majors, captains, transgender. They’ve been, they're summarily fired right now... Every one of their performance reports top, top people, but they were transgender and therefore not welcome."
In a diverse military facing recruitment challenges, Garamendi asked the essential question: "If you're not reaching out to all of those ethnic groups and languages and cultures, how do you recruit? Who are you gonna recruit from... a population that is smaller?"
Looking Forward: Strategic Priorities vs. Culture Wars
While Democrats managed about "30% success" in the committee, Garamendi emphasized they're "not gonna give up this fight." The real test comes on the House floor and in ongoing appropriations battles.
The stakes extend far beyond any single policy fight. As Garamendi concluded: "We need to be very much aware... Let's use this moment before we set off a whole new round of... new missiles and so forth to enter into negotiations. It's in the interest of all of us."
With a trillion dollars in military spending at stake and fundamental questions about the role of the military in American democracy on the table, the 2026 NDAA represents far more than a typical defense bill. It's a battle for the soul of American civil-military relations - and the early rounds suggest that battle is just beginning.
This interview reveals the depth of challenges facing military families, the dangerous precedents being set in civil-military relations, and the urgent need for strategic thinking over culture war politics. As markup concludes and floor fights begin, these conversations with lawmakers on the front lines become ever more critical.