House GOP leaders struggle to resolve standoff over social issues in defense bill

By Melanie Zanona, Haley Talbot, Lauren Fox and Clare Foran, CNN

(CNN) — House Republican leaders are scrambling to find a path forward on a critical defense policy bill that faces an uncertain future as conservatives push for amendments on controversial social issues that threaten to derail the must-pass legislation.

Conservatives have demanded amendment votes on a number of contentious issues, touching on everything from abortion to transgender rights to Ukraine funding. There still is not a resolution for how leaders will handle those demands.

The fate of the stalled defense bill now comes down to negotiations between House GOP leaders and conservative hardliners – a familiar dynamic for the Republican majority.

GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he didn’t know where things stood with the bill because talks are “all being done between leadership and Freedom Caucus.”

Asked if he was frustrated by being left out of the loop, Rogers said, “No. I did my job.”

The fight over amendments has once again put House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a tough spot and underscores the challenge of maintaining unity in a fractious majority that holds only a narrow margin of control.

The House cleared a procedural hurdle earlier Wednesday afternoon by adopting a rule to proceed with floor debate with a small – and non-controversial – subset of the more than 1,500 amendments that were submitted for consideration to the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets the policy agenda and authorizes funding for the Department of Defense.

The move buys more time for leadership to continue working behind the scenes to try to reach agreement over the outstanding demands over more controversial amendments, but lawmakers on the Rules Committee have noted they will need to report out a separate, second rule with the rest of the amendments.

One of the biggest challenges for leadership now is which amendment votes to include in the next rules package. On the one hand, giving conservatives what they want may be the only way to pass a rule with GOP votes. On the other hand, if any of the more controversial amendments actually pass, it could siphon away needed Democratic votes for the final package.

Democratic votes are expected to be needed given the narrow Republican majority and the likelihood of GOP defections.

Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, warned that adopting controversial amendments, such as targeting the Pentagon’s abortion policy, transgender rights and diversity programs, could sink the bill that authorizes critical national security programs.

Asked by CNN’s Manu Raju if he is concerned that the legislation will fail, Smith replied, “Absolutely. I think it’s more likely than not right now that it won’t pass.”

McCarthy made a forceful case for the annual defense bill during a closed-door party meeting on Wednesday, warning members against irrelevant amendments that could complicate the bill’s pathway for passage, according to sources in the room.

The California Republican argued that if they don’t pass their own bill, they will get jammed by the Senate, and reminded members that loading the bill up with non-germane amendments like a “Christmas tree” was something members of the Freedom Caucus have previously fought against in the past.

Publicly, McCarthy has stressed the importance of getting the bill done and has downplayed internal tensions. Throughout the NDAA process, McCarthy has said it is more important to get it done “right” rather than on a rushed timeline.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Wednesday they have been “having conversations with (GOP Rep.) Scott Perry and others on just what the final round of amendments would be.”

Republican whip, Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, also said key member conversations are underway.

But Scalise warned of a late night the following day, with votes on amendments likely stretching until at least midnight Thursday.

“Ultimately, we’re going to work through the process,” he said. “If we can finish it all this week, we will. If it takes more time, we’ll take it. The most important thing is that we get the policy right because we’re talking about the priorities of funding our national defense, and it’s critically important that we get this right.”

This story has been updated with additional developments.

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