By Elaine Donnelly
President, Center for Military Readiness
CMR Chart Compares Interim Progress on NDAA for 2026
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2026 presents to members of the 119th Congress unprecedented opportunities to set a new course for our military on a near-permanent basis.
An impressive stack of Executive Orders and Implementing Memoranda signed by President Donald J Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth provide the blueprint for powerful cultural change in the armed forces, but all positive changes could be washed away like sandcastles if Congress does not inscribe them in law.
As CMR reported in February, Trump has boldly changed the paradigm, replacing identity-based diversity, equity, and inclusive (DEI) policies and divisive critical race theory (CRT) with programs that affirm clearly defined meritocracy and color-blindness, plus commonsense directives that define words like “sex” in terms of biology and allow for reasonable exceptions.
Policy Analysis: DEI Wall Crumbles Under Pressure from New Commander-in-Chief
Some members of the House and Senate have promised to support President Trump’s efforts to end wokeism in the military. How are they doing so far?
To find out, the Center for Military Readiness (CMR) has prepared this Comparison Chart:
The Chart tracks Executive and House/Senate actions as of September 9, during the ongoing process of writing what could be the most significant defense bill since 1992. Links are provided to review and compare significant Administrative actions with selected sections of the House and Senate draft defense bills.
Another tranche of proposed amendments, which is pending before the House Rules Committee, may include more measures to reinforce military meritocracy and common sense, while preventing a future progressive administration from turning back the clock.
Strong increases in military recruiting clearly show that Americans do not want to see our military return to the days of Leon Panetta and Lloyd Austin, who were Secretaries of Defense during the Administrations of Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
At this point, however, neither defense bill draft would codify the full scope of the Trump Administration’s executive actions. The Chart tracks many good ideas in both bills but also notes differences that negotiators should fix with carefully written language reflecting Executive Branch actions that are already strengthening our military.
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Note: This paper was prepared by the Center for Military Readiness (CMR) for informational purposes only. CMR is an independent, non-partisan public policy organization, founded by President Elaine Donnelly in 1993, which reports on and analyzes military/social issues. More information is available here: Prof. William A. Woodruff, The Federalist, The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly In Congress’s New NDAA; and here: CMR Policy Analysis, The NDAA for 2026 Should Restore Meritocracy in America’s Armed Forces,
First published on the Center for Military Readiness
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