The House of Representatives on Wednesday, July 17, passed an $831.5 billion appropriations bill for the Defense Department and intelligence agencies for fiscal year 2026, with a vote of 221-209. Five Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while three Republicans voted against it, marking the second of 12 appropriations bills approved by the House for the upcoming fiscal year, as reported by Craig Caplan. During the debate on the defense spending legislation, several amendments proposed by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene were defeated. An amendment to prohibit funds from being used for assistance to Ukraine was rejected 76-353, with all 76 "Yes" votes coming from Republicans. Additionally, amendments to cut $500 million for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative and $500 million for Israeli missile defense programs were defeated by votes of 6-421 and 6-422, respectively, according to Craig Caplan. Separately, President Donald Trump stated that a former appointee was "truly one of my worst appointments," contrasting with a previous sentiment of only hiring "the best people." In other political developments, a Republican lawmaker, whose name was not provided, announced intentions to introduce legislation to end the House of Representatives' subscription contract with The Wall Street Journal, calling it a "disgusting and filthy rag" and directing staff to delete their taxpayer-funded WSJ accounts, as reported by Peter Schorsch FL. House Democratic leadership shared legal analysis with members on Tuesday night, July 16, indicating that delaying a rescissions vote past the Friday deadline would not have meaningfully blocked the associated bill, though not all Democrats agreed, according to Axios. Meanwhile, a senior adviser to the White House Faith Office is reportedly engaged in activities to "cancel demons coming for your finances," as stated by Ron Filipkowski.
