Trump signs $1.29 trillion annual defence Bill without fanfare
· The Straits TimesWASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Dec 18 signed into law a nearly US$1 trillion (S$1.29 trillion) annual defence policy Bill, despite provisions providing new aid to Ukraine
and reining in his ability to dial down US involvement in the defence of Europe.
The fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorisation Act, or NDAA, authorises a record US$901 billion in annual military spending, US$8 billion more than Mr Trump requested.
The sweeping legislation determines everything from how many ships, aircraft and missile systems are bought, to a pay raise for the troops, and how to address geopolitical threats.
The White House announced he had signed it. It was a quiet affair, with no Oval Office ceremony attended by reporters.
The measure is a compromise, combining separate measures already passed in the House of Representatives and Senate before it was passed in December.
In a break with Mr Trump, whose Republicans hold majorities in both the House and Senate, the NDAA includes several provisions to boost security in Europe.
Mr Trump has been cool to bolstering European security, feeling the allies should pay their own way. His recently published National Security Strategy is seen as friendly to Russia and a reassessment of the US relationship with the continent.
The fiscal 2026 NDAA provides US$800 million for Ukraine – US$400 million in each of the next two years – as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays US companies for weapons for Ukraine’s military.
It comes as Mr Trump’s team is locked in negotiations with Ukraine and Russia
in a bid to bring about a halt to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The defence law also authorises the Baltic Security Initiative and provides US$175 million to support Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia’s defence.
It also limits the Department of Defense’s ability to drop the number of US forces in Europe to fewer than 76,000 and bars the US European commander from giving up the title of NATO supreme commander.
The White House said in a statement that Mr Trump backed the Bill because it codifies into law aspects of many of his executive orders, including funding the Golden Dome missile defence system and eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion programmes at the Pentagon.
Members of Congress have passed the NDAA every year for 65 straight years, though that streak almost ended during Mr Trump's first term.
Mr Trump vetoed the NDAA in December 2020, because he objected to its call to rename military bases and other facilities named for Confederate figures and disagreed with its approach to legal protections for tech companies, among other issues.
But Congress overrode his veto in January 2021, just before he left office, the only veto override of Mr Trump’s first term. REUTERS