The FY26 NDAA fulfills President Trump’s pledge to end wokeism in the military by eliminating DEI programs, banning CRT, and requiring promotions and academy admissions to be based solely on merit. It redirects over $1 billion from climate initiatives to strengthen combat readiness and restore the warrior ethos.
Both the Senate and House Armed Services Committees have approved the 2026 National Defense Acquisition Act, titled Peace Through Strength, but the bill has not yet become law. It must still pass floor votes in both chambers, move through a conference committee, and receive final approval before being signed by President Trump, likely toward the end of the year.
According to congressional summaries, the FY26 NDAA implements President Trump’s Peace Through Strength Agenda by codifying all or parts of 15 executive orders. These include Restoring America’s Fighting Force (EO 14185), Ending Radical and Wasteful Government Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs (EO 14151), and Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border (Proclamation 10886).
Other measures include Securing Our Borders (EO 14165), Clarifying the Military’s Role in Protecting the Territorial Integrity of the United States (EO 14167), Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and Spurring Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base (EO 14265), The Golden Dome for America (EO 14186), Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security (EO 14299), Restoring American Airspace Sovereignty (EO 14305), and Unleashing American Drone Dominance (EO 14307).
The bill fully funds the establishment and enforcement of National Defense Areas along the southwest border and authorizes deployment of National Guard and active-duty troops in support of Border Patrol operations. It also permits DoD to contract private companies for Customs and Border Protection support.
Over $900 million is dedicated to countering drug trafficking, including $398 million for DoD counter-narcotics operations and $116 million for National Guard counter-drug programs, reinforcing the principle that border security is national security.
Under Restoring Lethality and the Warrior Ethos, the NDAA eliminates DEI offices, CRT teaching, and climate programs across the Department of Defense, replacing them with priorities focused on warfighting readiness. All military promotions, accessions, command decisions, and service academy admissions must follow merit-based criteria, with race and ethnicity no longer allowed as factors.
The bill also strengthens accountability outside the ranks. It prohibits Pentagon funding for colleges and universities that tolerate antisemitic demonstrations and blocks DoD contracts with advertising firms, such as NewsGuard, that blacklist conservative outlets.
In addition, the NDAA codifies more than 30 legislative provisions requested by the Trump Administration. These include revising national missile defense policy to reflect the Golden Dome, extending expiring bonus and special pay authorities, expanding joint task force authorities, providing DoD support to secure U.S. airspace and maritime domains, and extending counter-ISIS authority.
The FY26 NDAA carries out Trump’s Peace Through Strength Agenda by building a ready, capable, and lethal fighting force. It expands DoD authorities for border security, reforms the acquisition process to speed delivery of new technologies, and provides a 3.8 percent pay raise and improved benefits for military families.
Funding is authorized for Trump’s top priorities, including the Golden Dome, F-47 fighter aircraft, submarines, warships, and autonomous systems. It revitalizes the defense industrial base, grows American defense manufacturing jobs, and strengthens onshoring of supply chains.
The act identifies over $20 billion in savings, including $15 billion from DOGE-initiated reforms in Trump’s budget. It reforms civil service laws governing DoD civilian hiring and firing, expands Indo-Pacific readiness, and extends authorities to eliminate terrorist threats. It also codifies Trump’s executive orders promoting energy independence and deploying new nuclear power technologies.
Finally, the NDAA cuts red tape by shifting defense acquisition from compliance to rapid, cost-effective fielding of capabilities. It reduces decision timelines from nearly three years to as few as 90 days, empowers program executive officers with full oversight of programs, and strengthens the role of Product Support Managers to ensure sustainment is integrated early, preventing costly readiness failures.
In addition to making the military stronger, the FY26 NDAA saves taxpayers more than $20 billion, including $15 billion in DOGE-initiated savings outlined in President Trump’s budget request.
These savings come from a wide range of cuts: $40.5 million from eliminating DEI activities, $1.6 billion from climate change-related programs, $1.2 billion by retiring obsolete weapons systems, $6.8 billion through reductions in Pentagon bureaucracy, $5.5 billion from trimming consulting and service contracts, and $5 billion from eliminating inefficient defense programs.
Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Pete Hegseth, the U.S. military is once again a lean, mean, fighting machine.
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