President-elect Donald Trump is already watching Republicans score victories as he awaits to take back control of the White House in January.

According to CBS News, a controversial defense bill was passed in the Republican-controlled House this week even after a massive congressional fight over a provision regarding gender-affirming care. 

The 1800-page, $895 billion defense spending bill was passed in the lower chamber in a 281 to 140 vote.

The bill will fund the Department of Defense for the 2025 fiscal year.

What happened?

The bill faced resistance from a majority of Democrats, however, 81 of them ultimately joined Republicans in passing the latest National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Only 16 Republicans opposed the bill.

Now that it has passed in the House, it will be sent to the Senate where it's expected to pass there as well.

CBS News noted:

The vote came after leaders in Congress struck a deal over the weekend on the legislation, which usually passes with wide bipartisan margins. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries acknowledged ahead of the vote on Wednesday that there's "a lot of positive things" within the NDAA that were negotiated in a bipartisan manner, but also some "troubling" provisions.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) applauded the lower chamber for passing the bill, celebrating it as a massive win for the American people and members of the military.

"The safety and security of the American people is our top priority," Johnson said at a news conference. "And this year's NDAA ensures our military has the resources and the capabilities needed to remain the most powerful fighting force on the planet."

The FY25 #NDAA has officially passed—delivering my 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members, the largest in history. Our troops deserve better than struggling to make ends meet.

Proud to have fought for this critical support for those who fight for us. pic.twitter.com/YXff2w0ebp

— Rep. Mike Garcia (@RepMikeGarcia) December 11, 2024

The controversy surrounding the bill involved the slashing of funds for DEI-related initiatives, as well as restricting funds for gender-affirming care for members of the military and their families.

Dems furious

While they attempted to point out positive elements of the bill as far as their priorities were concerned, Democrats were clearly disappointed in the bill.

"Speaker Johnson is pandering to the most extreme elements of his party to ensure that he retains his speakership. In doing so, he has upended what had been a bipartisan process," said Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

The bill should allow President-elect Trump to rebuild the U.S. military to levels where it was under his first watch.