US President Donald Trump signed into law a nearly $1 trillion annual defense policy bill on Thursday, despite provisions that provide new aid to Ukraine and rein in his ability to dial back US involvement in the defense of Europe.
The fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, authorizes a record $901 billion in annual military spending, $8 billion more than Trump requested.
The sweeping legislation determines everything from how many ships, aircraft, and missile systems are bought, to a pay raise for the troops, to how to address geopolitical threats.
The White House announced he had signed it. It was a quiet affair, with no Oval Office ceremony attended by reporters.
The measure is a compromise, combining separate measures already passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate before they were passed this month.
In a break with Trump, whose Republicans hold majorities in both the House and Senate, the NDAA includes several provisions to boost security in Europe.
Trump has been cool to bolstering European security, feeling the allies should pay their own way. His recently published National Security Strategy is seen as friendly to Russia and a reassessment of the US relationship with the continent.
Trump's team locked in Ukraine-Russia negotiations
The fiscal 2026 NDAA provides $800 million for Ukraine - $400 million in each of the next two years - as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays US companies for weapons for Ukraine's military.
It comes as Trump's team is locked in negotiations with Ukraine and Russia in a bid to bring about a halt to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The defense law authorizes the Baltic Security Initiative and provides $175 million to support Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia's defense. It also limits the Department of Defense's ability to reduce the number of US forces in Europe to fewer than 76,000, and bars the US European Commander from relinquishing the title of NATO Supreme Commander.
The White House said in a statement that Trump backed the bill because it codifies into law aspects of many of his executive orders, including funding the Golden Dome missile defense system and eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at the Pentagon.
Members of Congress have passed the NDAA every year for 65 straight years, though that streak almost ended during Trump's first term.
Trump vetoed the NDAA in December 2020 because he objected to its call to rename military bases and other facilities named for Confederate figures and disagreed with its approach to legal protections for tech companies, among other issues.
However, Congress overrode his veto in January 2021, just before he left office, the only veto override of Trump's first term.