Overview
- Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell filed amendments to strike Section 373 from the FY2026 NDAA and to substitute their bipartisan ROTOR Act, standing with families of the 67 victims of January’s DCA collision.
- Leaders signaled the defense bill is unlikely to be reopened because doing so would send it back to the House, so the Senate plans to clear the NDAA this week as written.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the chamber could take up a vote on the ROTOR Act as an amendment to upcoming appropriations, and Cruz said he is seeking that vote before the current continuing resolution expires next month.
- NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy warned the NDAA’s TCAS-based language is a “major step backwards,” noting TCAS does not protect at low altitudes, while the ROTOR Act would require ADS‑B location broadcasts with narrower military waivers.
- The Associated Press corrected an earlier story to clarify that Cruz is not threatening a shutdown and will instead push to attach the ROTOR Act to a government funding package.