House passes massive $886 BILLION defense bill despite Republican turmoil over inclusion of short-term extension of FBI spy tool: Lawmakers flee D.C. for holidays as Senate is still negotiating border security and Ukraine and Israel aid

The House passed the sprawling $886 annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that includes a pay raise for troops and a four-month extension of the FBI's controversial spy tool. 

The vote was 310 to 118. The bill had wide opposition from 73 right-wing Republicans who thought it did not have enough conservative provisions, but picked up support from 164 Democrats. 

The Senate passed the NDAA on Wednesday evening in a 87-13 vote and so the package goes to President Biden for his signature. Now, House lawmakers are fleeing D.C. to begin their three-week Christmas break.

But senators are remaining on Capitol Hill as they attempt to come to an agreement with the White House on adding border security measures to a $110 billion supplemental aid package to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific.

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus were furious with the final version of the NDAA, conferenced with the Senate - which extended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) before it expires at the end of the year and stripped out some of the hardline GOP amendments. 

'I'm disappointed,' Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., told DailyMail.com of the bill. 'The House voted to pass a very conservative bill,' he said of the House-passed version over the summer that went farther on social issues and stripped 'woke' provisions from the military.

'We removed taxpayer funding for abortions, for transgender surgeries, for new Green Deal provisions,' he went on. 'I knew there was going to be some compromise, but to accept an NDAA that basically gutted out all of the good work House Republicans did? That is unacceptable.' 

The hardline conservatives revealed a public split with Speaker Mike Johnson - who first said he would not attach FISA to NDAA then days later changed his mind. 

'Johnson starts from the same place I do, an extremely conservative view,' Rosendale said. 'He's got an extremely poor counselor around him. That undermines his confidence and gives him bad advice, which then leads to bad decisions.'

'We shouldn't govern by fear and failure,' Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, told DailyMail.com.

'The Mike Johnson that is standing up to [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky and the border should be doing the same thing with the NDAA and FISA.'

The legislation contains a four-month extension of the FBI's controversial surveillance tool, Section 702 of FISA.

Lawmakers are working through a set of fixes to the law - that allows the U.S. to surveil foreigners in an attempt to thwart terrorists - before renewing it since there have been a number of abuses.

But here's where it gets tricky - two GOP-led committees are pushing different versions of their reauthorization bills.

Earlier this week, Speaker Johnson had plans to put both on the floor - one from Judiciary and one from Intel - in a 'queen of the hill' style setup to see what bill gets more support. But after pushback on that decision, neither bill came up for a vote this week.

And a four-month extension was included in the NDAA bill's final language. 

That decision comes after far-right House Freedom Caucus-aligned Republicans showed the first signs of frustration with Johnson over his handling of FISA reauthorization. They issued an ominous threat in opposition to the NDAA's inclusion of FISA.

'Any reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) must be considered only with significant reforms and as a standalone measure,' the statement said.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told DailyMail.com Thursday that the short-term extension is 'ripe for reform.'

He applauded a number of 'important big win' provisions including how it 'redirects our attention on China' and also roots out 'discriminatory DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) indoctrination in our military.'

'And I'm proud of those amendments that made it in, and then also supporting our men and women of the military. So there’s a lot of wins in there,' Schmitt, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, stated.

The NDAA also includes a 5.2 percent pay raise for U.S. troops and require the Pentagon to inform service members who were fired for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine that they can be reinstated.

It also contains $300 million in additional authorized funds for Ukraine in fiscal year 2024 - through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative - and $11.5 billion to deter the rising threat from China. 

It strengthens the United States' trilateral alliance with the U.K. and Australia through its AUKUS program and authorizes the group's joint nuclear submarine mission.

In addition, the legislation has Republican-led measures to combat 'woke' issues within the U.S. military, including the teaching of critical race theory.

But it does not block the Pentagon's current policy allowing troops to be reimbursed for travel expenses to obtain abortions, an issue that Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., held up over 400 military promotions over.

The passage comes as the Senate remains divided over whether to approve a massive separate spending request for over $61 billion to Ukraine and additional aid to Israel and Taiwan. Republicans are demanding that major border security measures are included in any such package. 

President Biden has signaled that he is open to working with Republicans on border security in order to get the critical assistance to Ukraine and other allies of the U.S. 

Reports this week revealed the Biden administration is in talks with negotiators in Congress to dramatically expand detentions and deportations at the border, as well as essentially revive pandemic-era Title 42 policies by expelling migrants without hearing asylum claims. 

In exchange, Republicans would get on board with Biden's proposal. But it remains to be seen if the lawmakers can get on the same page before the Christmas recess. 

Senate Majority Leader said Thursday morning that negotiators from the White House, Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans 'will continue to negotiate on a national security supplemental package.'

'Yesterday, we had another round of productive conversations and there was more progress. But there's more work to do,' he said.

Last week, Republican senators blocked President Biden's request for $110 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan as the GOP demands stricter southern border security measures be included.

The package included $61 billion to Ukraine in addition to assistance to Israel in its ongoing war with Hamas terrorists, humanitarian aid to Gaza and funds to support U.S. partners in the Indo-Pacific.