House GOP leaders struggle to resolve standoff over social issues in defense bill

House Republican leaders are scrambling to find a path forward on a critical defense policy bill that faces an uncertain future as conservatives push for amendments on controversial social issues that threaten to derail the must-pass legislation.

Conservatives have demanded amendment votes on a number of contentious issues, touching on everything from abortion to transgender rights to Ukraine funding. There still is not a resolution for how leaders will handle those demands.

The fate of the stalled defense bill now comes down to negotiations between House GOP leaders and conservative hardliners - a familiar dynamic for the Republican majority.

GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said he didn't know where things stood with the bill because talks are "all being done between leadership and Freedom Caucus."

Asked if he was frustrated by being left out of the loop, Rogers said, "No. I did my job."

The fight over amendments has once again put House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a tough spot and underscores the challenge of maintaining unity in a fractious majority that holds only a narrow margin of control.

The House cleared a procedural hurdle earlier Wednesday afternoon by adopting a rule to proceed with floor debate with a small - and non-controversial - subset of the more than 1,500 amendments that were submitted for consideration to the National Defense Authorization Act, which sets the policy agenda and authorizes funding for the Department of Defense.