On December 18, local time, US President Trump signed the 2026 Defense Authorization Act totaling 901 billion US dollars. The Senate passed the bill on the 17th with 77 votes in favor and 20 against. The House of Representatives voted to pass the bill on the 10th. According to reports, the bill includes measures such as raising the salaries of active US military personnel, supporting the deployment of the National Guard and active duty forces on the southwestern border of the United States to intercept illegal immigrants and drugs, developing the “Golden Dome” missile defense system, and raising the level of military combat readiness. The bill also requires the provision of 400 million US dollars in military aid to Ukraine every year for the next two years, abolish the 2002 National Assembly resolution authorizing the government to use force against Iraq, and lift sanctions against Syria. The bill also contains a provision requiring Secretary of Defense Hegseth to hand over an unedited video of the US military attacking a so-called “drug trafficking ship” and killing two survivors in the Caribbean Sea on September 2 and a copy of the action order. Hegseth told the media on the 16th that the Ministry of Defense will not release this full video to the public, and members of the military committees of the Senate and House of Representatives will watch this video.

On December 18, local time, US President Trump signed the 2026 Defense Authorization Act totaling 901 billion US dollars. The Senate passed the bill on the 17th with 77 votes in favor and 20 against. The House of Representatives voted to pass the bill on the 10th. According to reports, the bill includes measures such as raising the salaries of active US military personnel, supporting the deployment of the National Guard and active duty forces on the southwestern border of the United States to intercept illegal immigrants and drugs, developing the “Golden Dome” missile defense system, and raising the level of military combat readiness. The bill also requires the provision of 400 million US dollars in military aid to Ukraine every year for the next two years, abolish the 2002 National Assembly resolution authorizing the government to use force against Iraq, and lift sanctions against Syria. The bill also contains a provision requiring Secretary of Defense Hegseth to hand over an unedited video of the US military attacking a so-called “drug trafficking ship” and killing two survivors in the Caribbean Sea on September 2 and a copy of the action order. Hegseth told the media on the 16th that the Ministry of Defense will not release this full video to the public, and members of the military committees of the Senate and House of Representatives will watch this video.