Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) are working to strip a provision in the annual defense bill that would integrate the U.S. and Israeli militaries.A provision in this year’s National Defense Authorization Act requires War Secretary Pete Hegseth to appoint a lead official to coordinate joint U.S.-Israel defense efforts, including technology research, development, testing, evaluation, integration, and industrial cooperation. The effort to integrate the U.S. military with Israel comes amid joint attacks against Iran earlier this year.Both Massie and Khanna, who previously partnered on a discharge petition to force the Justice Department to release the files of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, are vowing to introduce amendments to remove the section in its entirety, either in committee or on the House floor.
Massie, who lost his primary bid to a Trump-backed challenger last month, railed against the provision on social media, saying he would move to remove the measure on the House floor if it made it out of the House Armed Services Committee.
“We are a sovereign country,” Massie wrote on Saturday.
Khanna, a member of the committee, pledged to introduce an amendment to strip it from the must-pass military bill during the committee’s scheduled markup on Thursday.
