CNN —House Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces a challenge Friday morning: A razor thin margin to get a must-pass defense policy bill over the finish line with a majority of Democrats signaling they cannot support the version of the legislation crafted by conservative Republicans.
The bill – known as the National Defense Authorization Act – sets the policy agenda and authorizes funding for the Department of Defense.
If they lose that many members, it would greatly increase the prospects that Republicans could muscle the bill through.
Without Democratic support, Republicans will need to wrangle nearly every member of the GOP conference in order to get the bill over the finish line.
Many Democrats made clear ahead of the vote that if the amendment was included as part of the defense bill, they would be unlikely to support final passage.
Persons:
Kevin McCarthy, Ralph Norman, GOP Sen, Tommy Tuberville, Lauren Boebert’s, Marjorie Taylor Greene
Organizations:
CNN —, Republicans, National Defense, Department of Defense, Democratic, GOP, Rep, Republican
Locations:
lockstep, South Carolina, Colorado, Ukraine, Georgia