Congress passes defense bill authorizing biggest pay rise for troops in 20 years

Bill does not include a number of conservative policy demands, though Republicans won concessions on DEI training in military

Congress passed a US defense policy bill on Thursday that authorizes the biggest pay rise for troops in more than two decades, while leaving behind many of the policy priorities that social conservatives were clamoring for.

Lawmakers have been negotiating a final bill for months. Some of the priorities championed by social conservatives were a no-go for Democrats, so negotiators dropped them from the final product to get it over the finish line.