New Democrats ramp up pressure on defense bill as McCarthy faces pressure to appease the right

By Haley Talbot, Annie Grayer and Melanie Zanona, CNN

(CNN) — The New Democrat Coalition, which says it has a 98-House member bloc, is ramping up pressure on Speaker Kevin McCarthy to reject hardliners in his party and instead work with Republicans and Democrats to pass its annual defense legislation in a timely manner.

“Speaker McCarthy must choose between caving to the most extreme elements of his party that seek to compromise our national defense or working with sensible lawmakers to support all of our troops,” New Democrat Coalition Chairs jointly announced Tuesday.

The urge to pursue a bipartisan path comes as leadership must navigate right-wing lawmakers pushing for a slew of hot button amendments that could put moderate Republicans in a complicated position and threaten Democratic support for the must-pass bill.

Late Tuesday, the House Rules Committee reconvened after a nearly seven-hour holdup, voting to report out a rule and allowing floor debate to begin as leadership works behind the scenes to solve issues with controversial amendments.

The committee voted along party lines to proceed with floor debate with just some of the 1,500+ amendments. Lawmakers on the committee noted they will need to report out a separate, second rule with the rest of the amendments.

The National Defense Authorization Act, which outlines the policy agenda for the Department of Defense and the US military and authorizes spending in line with the Pentagon’s priorities, passed out of the House Armed Services committee with overwhelming bipartisan support, even though some controversial GOP amendments – including a ban on drag shows on military bases and the reinstatement of troops who refused to comply with the Pentagon’s vaccine mandate – were adopted.

While drama isn’t new in fights over the NDAA, which has been passed by Congress every year for the last six decades, this level of acrimony is notable. After receiving heat for the debt ceiling deal struck earlier this year, McCarthy is under increasing pressure to cater to his right flank, ratcheting up concerns about the ability for lawmakers to reach a compromise that both chambers can agree on.

McCarthy signaled earlier Tuesday he felt no pressure to get the NDAA passed by Friday, insisting instead GOP leadership wants to get it “right.”

Republicans can only afford to lose two votes on the committee on a party-line vote, and McCarthy placed three far-right members on the panel in exchange for becoming speaker. At least one of the conservative lawmakers on the panel, Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, told CNN he plans to oppose the rule.

Texas Rep. Chip Roy, a hardline conservative who sits on the Rules Committee, would not commit to supporting the rule.

“We’ll see,” Roy told CNN as he walked into the speaker’s office on Tuesday. “That hinges a lot on the process.”

This story has been updated Wednesday with additional updates.

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CNN’s Manu Raju and Kristin Wilson contributed to this report.