The Senate voted on Wednesday to pass the $895 billion Defense Authorization Bill, despite a provision on transgender care that caused concern among some Democrats, sending it to President Biden’s desk for final approval.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was approved 85 to 14 by senators, surpassing the 60 votes needed in the 100-member chamber. The bill moved forward even with the inclusion of a controversial measure that would ban certain gender-affirming care for transgender children of service members, The Hill reported.

“Today, for the 64th consecutive year, the Senate passes a bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act to protect the American people and strengthen our security,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a floor speech ahead of the vote. “The NDAA is not perfect, but it still makes several important advances Democrats fought for to secure America’s national defense and take a strong stand against the Chinese Communist Party.”

The measure, which establishes Defense Department policy and priorities for the year, passed the House last week 281-140.

The must-pass legislation, which usually receives broad bipartisan support, faced opposition this time after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) added last-minute language restricting the use of TRICARE funds — the health care program for active-duty service members — for gender-affirming care for children 18 and under of military members.

This change prompted a handful of Democrats to vote against the bill, including Sens. Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), and Ed Markey (Mass.).

But the fact that a transgender provision was included in a defense bill in the first place reinforces President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of former Fox News host Pete Hegseth to lead the department. Hegseth has repeatedly said that transgenderism has no place in the U.S. military because gender-affirming care is ongoing and essentially makes trans troops non-deployable.

Also, both Trump and Hegseth have said they want the Pentagon and the various U.S. military academies laser-focused on lethality and winning the nation’s wars, not cultural and social issues that distract from producing such a force, especially as global threats from China and other nations grow.

A group of 21 Democratic senators attempted to block the provision at the last minute, introducing an amendment on Monday to remove Johnson’s language. However, the effort failed to pass. Baldwin, who had led the push to eliminate the controversial provision, urged her colleagues to reject the NDAA, arguing that lawmakers’ commitment to U.S. service members had been “broken.”

But other Democratic senators threw their support behind it, arguing it was too important to national security to not pass.

“This is a strong, forward-looking bill that we can all be proud of,” Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said ahead of the vote, though he acknowledged there are “concerns that some of my colleagues have” about the legislation, The Hill noted.

“I share many of my colleagues’ frustration that the bill includes a provision that would prohibit gender-affirming health care for minors in certain circumstances,” Reed said. “Ultimately, though, we have before us a very strong National Defense Authorization Act. I am confident it will provide the Department of Defense and our military men and women with the resources they need to meet and defeat the national security threats we face.”

The fiscal 2025 NDAA, a massive 1,800-page document, authorizes $895 billion in Pentagon spending and outlines key policy objectives. Among the provisions are a 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted troops and a 4.5 percent increase for all other service members, along with funding to strengthen the U.S. presence in the Indo-Pacific and support the development of new warships, aircraft, and vehicles, the outlet said.

The bill also includes language that prevents the Defense Department from supporting critical race theory — an academic framework examining U.S. history through the lens of racism, which has become a political catch-all term for any race-related teaching.

Additionally, it imposes a yearlong hiring freeze on positions related to DEI — diversity, equity, and inclusion — programs within the military.