Trump signs $1tn annual US defense bill without fanfare

Donald Trump on Thursday signed into law a nearly $1tn annual defense policy bill, despite provisions inserted by Congress providing new aid to Ukraine and reining in his ability to dial down US involvement in the defense of Europe.

The fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, authorizes a record $901bn in annual military spending, $8bn 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 the president had signed it. It was a quiet affair, with no Oval Office signing ceremony attended by reporters, as has become customary during Trump’s second term.

The measure is a compromise, combining separate measures approved by the House of Representatives and Senate, both of which are under Republican control.

The NDAA includes several provisions to boost security in Europe.

Trump has been cool to bolstering European security, arguing the allies should pay their own way. His recently published national security strategy is seen as friendly to Russia, hostile to the European Union and a reassessment of the US relationship with the continent.

The fiscal 2026 NDAA provides $800m for Ukraine – $400m 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 continues protracted negotiations with Ukraine and Russia in a bid to bring about a halt to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The defense law also authorizes the Baltic security initiative and provides $175 million to support Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia’s defense. And it limits the Department of Defense’s ability to drop the number of US forces in Europe to fewer than 76,000 and bars the US European commander from giving up 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 his “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.