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The Lawfare Podcast

Lawfare Daily: The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act

The Lawfare Podcast

The Lawfare Institute

Law, Terrorism, History, Politics, News, National Security, Foreign Policy, Intelligence, Diplomacy, International Law, International Relations, Constitutional Law, Rule Of Law, Current Events, Government, Military

4.76.4K Ratings

🗓️ 29 December 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode, Ariane Tabatabai, Scott R. Anderson, and Loren Voss discuss the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026. They take stock of how Congress is reasserting itself vis-a-vis the Trump administration on matters related to the national defense, as well as the NDAA’s key provisions. 

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Hey there, Lawfare listeners, editor-in-chief Benjamin Wittis here. It's the end of the year.

0:07.9

You know, you got your holidays, you got your little break from whatever it is. You do school or work or whatever.

0:17.3

And you've had your presents, you've had your stuff, you've had your Christmas or Hanukkah,

0:26.3

and now we are here to ask for your support. Lawfare is a 501C3 nonpartisan nonprofit organization.

0:35.8

We cover a broad range of issues on national security law

0:40.9

and policy to keep you informed, but we can't do it without your support. This year, nearly a third of

0:48.4

lawfair's revenue has come from people like you. If you are not already contributing to lawfare, please change that.

0:57.6

Go to lawfaremedia.org slash support.

1:01.1

You can be a monthly supporter on Patreon or substack, or you can make a donation on give butter

1:08.5

on a one-time basis if you are already giving as much as you can

1:13.2

or want to get involved in other ways, please go to lawfaremedia.org slash get involved.

1:21.0

Thank you for listening and thank you for supporting Lawfare.

1:27.8

What this does do, the thing that's gotten the most attention is that it poses a restriction

1:32.1

on the travel funds available to the Secretary of Defense, basically saying you can't

1:36.4

spend more than 75% of the funds made available to you for travel unless you provide

1:41.6

unedited video of the strikes that have been conducted against,

1:46.1

quoting here, against designated terrorist organizations in the area of responsibility of the

1:49.5

United States Southern Command.

1:51.1

It's the Lawfare podcast. I'm Ariane Tabatabai, public service fellow here at Lawfare

1:55.8

with my colleagues, Lauren Boss, my fellow public service fellow, and Scott Anderson, senior editor.

2:02.8

I think there are more concerns on a bipartisan basis of how the military might be used abroad

2:08.7

and how the terms of especially the 2002 AMF might be stretched more so than it already has been.

...

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