As you may know, I voted against the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 last week. I always want to be transparent with the Ninth about my work in Washington, which is why I’d like to take this opportunity to explain my vote.
While I fully support our brave service members and want to ensure that we continue to have the most lethal military force in the world, I couldn’t lend my support to the NDAA in its current form. Foremost, this bill took no action to rollback the unconstitutional vaccine mandates forcing the expulsion of dedicated members of our Armed Forces. As of July 1st, another 62,000 troops were barred from duty, leaving our military further shorthanded after dismal recruitment numbers in FY22. Additionally, the NDAA continues a trend of disturbing indoctrination, by means of Critical Race Theory and gender identity, that continues to plague and purge our military. Medical tyranny and wokeness do not improve our ranks — these policies undermine them and our combat readiness, subsequently undermining our national security. Furthermore, it’s both baffling and incredibly revealing that the Left’s ideology and vaccination obsession are prioritized at a time when every branch is struggling to reach the aforementioned recruitment and retention goals. These illogical decisions and funding requests come from the same failed military leadership responsible for the Biden Administration’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal.
Additionally, the NDAA squanders resources on irresponsible Green New Deal initiatives that will only weaken our nation’s readiness against adversaries such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Injecting the U.S. military with environmental extremism is a grave mistake that projects weakness and compromises our capabilities.
This package also includes a preposterous amendment that strips the President’s authority over the D.C. National Guard and hands this power to the D.C. Mayor. Despite Democrats’ dangerous attempts to make the District of Columbia a state, it is not — and never will be — therefore the D.C. Mayor cannot maintain equal authorities as governors of states. By including this ill-advised proposal, Democrats further contaminated the NDAA with the politically motivated unconstitutional dream of D.C. statehood.
As a Navy combat veteran, I certainly understand and value strengthening our nation’s readiness through bolstering our military’s defense capabilities and investing in our servicemen and women. But I refuse to surrender the future of our country’s military to the radical Left, which is exactly what I see happening in this bill. I encourage the House and Senate to come together in conference to refocus the NDAA on promoting and funding the U.S. military’s core mission of properly training our troops, so we remain the most lethal combat-ready force on the planet. Ultimately, we vote on words on paper, so we must eliminate the unnecessary, radical, and wasteful policies that corrupt this crucial legislation.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding my vote against the FY23 NDAA, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office.
