Republicans are six weeks away from taking over the House, but they’re already previewing a clash with the Pentagon over its Biden-era policies.
This week, would-be House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Congress should delay the National Defense Authorization Act until next year, citing the need for the new majority to crack open the bill and try to roll back policies meant to make the service more inclusive.
“I’ve watched what the Democrats have done in many of these, especially in the NDAA and the wokeism that they want to bring in there,” McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill this week. “I actually believe the NDAA should hold up until the first of the year, and let’s get it right.”
He didn’t cite a specific issue, but Republicans use the term wokeism to refer to a Fox News-fueled litany of complaints against Defense Department policies — from vaccine mandates to efforts to root out extremism to a push to create more diversity in the ranks. All are framed as distractions that weaken the military and keep it from being able to counter China.
DoD has defended its policies, saying diversity and awareness programs strengthen the force, give it a broader pool of potential troops amid a military-wide recruiting crisis, and have no bearing on units’ abilities to defend the nation.
The Republicans’ complaints on these issues aren’t new. Nor is their focus on the culture wars. For two years, conservatives have had Twitter-ready exchanges with Pentagon leaders during hearings that were called for some other reason, usually the budget. But because they’re in the minority, Republicans haven’t been able to make much of a dent in how the Defense Department handles its troops.
All of that changes on Jan. 3, when those same Republicans gain the power to call their own hearings on topics of their choosing, push through legislation and put their concerns front and center.
Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), a House Armed Services member who has pushed to ban the teaching of critical race theory at service academies, accused the administration of “a progressive, socially-driven agenda that is being forced on the military.”
“They’ve gone this direction,” Waltz said in an interview, referring to the Biden administration. “But yes … we are going to provide oversight and we are going to legislate it.”
Ranking Republican Mike Rogers of Alabama, who will chair the Armed Services Committee next year, said the Biden administration wants “to force their political agenda onto our servicemembers” rather than focusing on military threats.
“Republicans are seeking to hold the Biden administration accountable for the improper use of DoD resources to implement far-left initiatives that have nothing to do with national security,” Rogers said in a statement.