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Trump-backed military right to repair plan stripped from Congress’ final defense bill
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The final legislation governing Pentagon spending dropped a bipartisan provision that would have guaranteed the military the right to repair its own equipment, prompting immediate criticism from its authors, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, and Tim Sheehy, R-MT, who accused Congress of siding with defense contractors over service members.
Both chambers had passed versions of the reform, and the White House publicly supported the measure, which would have required contractors to provide the Pentagon with the technical data needed to perform repairs in-house — rather than flying out manufacturer technicians at added cost. The final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) omits that mandate, a move Warren and Sheehy say will leave troops facing the same barriers to fixing equipment whenever contractors assert proprietary rights.
«For decades, the Pentagon has relied on a broken acquisition system that is routinely defended by career bureaucrats and corporate interests. Military right to repair reforms are supported by the Trump White House, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and our brave servicemembers,» Warren and Sheehy said after the text of the legislation was released. «The only ones against this common-sense reform are those taking advantage of a broken status quo at the expense of our warfighters and taxpayers.»
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) repeatedly has warned that the Pentagon’s lack of access to technical data is one of the biggest drivers of soaring sustainment costs, estimating that broader repair rights could save the department «billions» of dollars over the life cycles of major weapons systems.
Lawmakers voiced criticism after the National Defense Authorization Act left out provisions allowing soldiers to repair their own equipment. (Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
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GAO reviews of aircraft, ships and ground vehicles have found that when contractors retain exclusive control over repair information, the military is forced into long-term vendor support arrangements that are far more expensive than in-house maintenance. In several cases, GAO concluded that obtaining necessary data earlier in the acquisition process would have given the Pentagon more flexibility, reduced downtime, and lowered costs for everything from software fixes to depot-level repairs.
Sources familiar with the NDAA negotiations claimed that, behind closed doors, lobbyists had persuaded leaders on the House and Senate Armed Services Committee to drop the more aggressive right to repair language.
«This is a textbook case of the swamp prevailing at the expense of our warfighters and government efficiency,» one source said. «Does (War Secretary Pete) Hegseth realize that Boeing just knocked the legs out from our warriors?»
A spokesperson for the House Armed Services Committee said: «The Committee is committed to addressing the right to repair issue in a manner that ensures our warfighters have the data they need to effectuate repairs while preserving the intellectual property of private industry.»
«The FY26 NDAA requires the Department to audit its contracts to determine where they are missing data rights they need and determine whether any missing data rights is the result of a defective law or a defective contract. If the law is defective, the department needs to make recommendations to Congress on how to fix it.»
Watchdogs also questioned the weaker compromise.
«The provisions are nowhere near strong enough,» said Greg Williams of the Project on Government Oversight. «They help catalog the problem, but they don’t really do anything to solve it.» Williams added that the original proposals «acknowledged the cost and committed to paying fair, reasonable prices to vendors for that intellectual property,» countering industry arguments that the bill would have seized or devalued contractors’ data.
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Industry groups defended their opposition.
«This debate is not about ensuring equipment and technology can be repaired in contested environments; commanders already have broad authority to keep mission-critical systems operational,» said Marta Hernandez, spokesperson for the Aerospace Industries Association. «Our concern with the Senate proposal is its sweeping mandate for government takeover of IP — without regard to necessity or cost. ‘One size fits all’ doesn’t work for our troops or for the industry that equips them.»
But military officials and watchdogs say that while commanders can authorize emergency fixes, that authority does not give units the technical data, software access, or parts needed to actually perform repairs. They argue that crews remain dependent on contractors even when they have the skills to fix the equipment themselves.
Instead of requiring contractors to provide repair data, the final NDAA directs the Pentagon to create a database cataloging what technical information it currently has and to «request options» from contractors when data is missing. Critics say the language has no enforcement mechanism and leaves manufacturers free to refuse, preserving the contractor-controlled repair model the reform sought to change.
GAO reviews of aircraft, ships and ground vehicles have found that when contractors retain exclusive control over repair information, the military is forced into long-term vendor support arrangements that are far more expensive than in-house maintenance. (Armin Weigel/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The Trump administration had backed the reform, with Statements of Administration Policy supporting both the House and Senate versions earlier in the fall. Service secretaries also endorsed the effort, and War Secretary Pete Hegseth issued new acquisition guidance in November instructing the military to plan for «organic depot-level maintenance and repair» in major systems.
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In May 2025, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll publicly pledged that the Army would ensure right-to-repair provisions were included in future Army contracts — aligning the service with the broader congressional push for greater access to technical data. But advocates said a service-by-service approach wasn’t enough and pushed to codify and expand right to repair across all branches to prevent contractors from controlling critical maintenance information.
The F-35 program offers one of the clearest examples of how restricted repair rights drive up costs.
GAO has found that the Pentagon still lacks key technical data needed to perform many F-35 repairs organically, forcing the services to rely on Lockheed Martin and its subcontractors for everything from software maintenance to component overhauls. That dependence has helped push sustainment costs so high that the Pentagon warns it cannot afford to operate the planned fleet without major changes.
GAO reported that greater access to repair data could save the department billions over the jet’s projected life cycle, reduce turnaround times for broken parts, and allow military depots to take on work that is currently outsourced back to the contractor.
The F-35 program offers one of the clearest examples of how restricted repair rights drive up costs. (Samuel King Jr./U.S. Air Force)
The consequences of contractor restrictions are already visible across the force. A mechanic deployed for an exercise in Korea «was prohibited from conducting maintenance on a generator because the warranty would be voided,» leaving the unit with the choice of voiding the warranty or losing equipment needed for training, according to a comment filed on Regulations.gov.
Marines stationed in Japan were forced to «pack() up and ship() back (engines) to contractors in the (U.S.) for repairs,» leaving the engines offline for months, former Marine Corps logistics officer Elle Ekman wrote in The New York Times.
Even basic shipboard systems have been affected. Navy Secretary John Phelan told lawmakers that during a visit to the USS Gerald R. Ford, six of the ship’s eight ovens — responsible for preparing more than 15,000 meals a day — were broken. Sailors said they knew how to fix the ovens but were not allowed to and had to wait for contractors instead, according to a War Department readout. When shipboard elevators stopped working, the crew similarly had to call in the manufacturer.
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Advocates say these examples illustrate why Congress sought to codify military right to repair in the first place — and why they argue the issue is far from resolved. Warren and Sheehy have already vowed to push another legislative fix in 2026, while watchdog groups say they will press the Pentagon to use its existing authority to demand greater data access in new contracts.
pentagon,congress,us navy,us army,military tech
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Senate Republicans push for House GOP rebellion against funding package, voter ID legislation
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A pair of Senate Republicans are pushing their House counterparts to reject the Trump-backed shutdown deal unless it includes Homeland Security funding and election integrity legislation.
Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, are calling on House Republicans to push back against the Senate-passed funding package, which includes bills to fund five agencies, including the Pentagon, as a partial government shutdown continues.
They contended that the package needs to be retooled, and must include a modified version of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility Act, dubbed the SAVE America Act, and the Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, which was stripped out after Senate Democrats threatened to blow up the government funding process.
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Sen. Rick Scott demanded that his House Republican colleagues reject the Senate-passed funding package unless it included DHS spending and voter ID legislation. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Doing so could extend what was expected to be a short-term shutdown.
Scott said congressional Democrats would «NEVER fund DHS» and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He voted against the package twice, arguing that the spending levels would further bloat the nation’s eye-popping $38 trillion national debt, and that the billions in earmarks betrayed Republicans’ previous vows of fiscal restraint.
«If House Republicans don’t put the DHS bill back in, add the SAVE America Act and remove the wasteful earmarks, Democrats win,» Scott said. «We must protect our homeland, secure our elections and end the reckless spending NOW!»
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Sen. Mike Lee wants House Republicans to push back against the Trump-backed government funding deal, and demanded that it include DHS funding and his voter ID legislation. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Lee also rejected the package in the Senate because of earmarks. He also agreed with Scott, and pushed for his SAVE America Act, which he introduced alongside Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, to be included.
«To my friends in the House GOP: Please put DHS funding back in, then add the SAVE America Act,» Lee wrote on X.
The updated version of the SAVE Act would require that people present photo identification before voting, states obtain proof of citizenship in-person when people register to vote and remove noncitizens from voter rolls.
But their demands run counter to the desire of President Donald Trump, who brokered a truce with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to strip the DHS bill following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti during an immigration operation in Minneapolis in order to ram the funding package through the Senate.
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Speaker Mike Johnson walks from the chamber after the final vote to bring the longest government shutdown in history to an end, at the Capitol, Nov. 12, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
And any changes to the deal, like including the SAVE America Act or adding the DHS bill, would send the package back to the Senate, where Schumer and his caucus would likely reject it.
That would create a back-and-forth between the chambers that would further prolong what was meant to be a temporary shutdown.
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Their demands also place House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in a precarious position, given that several House Republicans want to extract concessions from congressional Democrats. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., is already leading a charge to include the SAVE Act in the funding package.
Johnson will have to shore up any resistance among his conference, given that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., made clear to the speaker that any attempt to fast-track the legislation on Monday, when the House returns, would fail.
politics,senate,government shutdown,house of representatives politics,donald trump
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El Salvador está en la recta final para modificaciones en el DUI, previo a comicios de 2027
Los salvadoreños tienen 27 días para realizar cambios en el Documento Único de Identidad (DUI), antes que el Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE) cierre el plazo otorgado para las modificaciones, un proceso esencial de cara a las elecciones generales previstas para el 28 de febrero de 2027.
En octubre de 2025, el entonces presidente del Registro Nacional de Personas Naturales (RNPN), Fernando Velasco, informó en entrevista televisiva la fecha límite para realizar cambios al documento de identidad salvadoreño.
“Los ciudadanos tienen hasta el 27 de febrero de 2026 para hacer cualquier modificación en cuanto a la dirección que aparece dentro del Documento Único de Identidad (DUI)”, dijo.
En ese sentido, quedan solo 27 días para realizar modificaciones, esto de acuerdo con los plazos establecidos en la normativa electoral de El Salvador.
Según las autoridades, la dirección registrada en el DUI incide en la elaboración del registro electoral, conocido popularmente como padrón electoral, pues sirve de referencia para definir dónde votará cada salvadoreño, y en qué municipio y departamento deberá emitir el sufragio para elegir al concejo municipal y diputados a la Asamblea Legislativa.
El artículo 14 del Código Electoral indica que el registro está “constituido por todos los ciudadanos y ciudadanas salvadoreños y salvadoreñas que de acuerdo con la Constitución y las leyes de la República se encuentran en capacidad de ejercer el sufragio”.
Al modificar la información en el DUI, se facilita que el RNPN proporcione datos certeros al TSE, como los nombres y apellidos; departamento, municipio, día, mes y año de nacimiento; nombre y apellido de la madre; nombre y apellido del padre; profesión u oficio y nivel de estudios realizados; estado familiar; municipio y lugar de residencia; sexo; firma y huella, entre otros, de acuerdo con lo estipulado en el artículo 17 del mismo Código.
Esta información también es vital para poder asignarle a cada ciudadano el centro de votación más cercano a su lugar de residencia y facilitar de esta manera la emisión del sufragio.
El cierre del plazo para este trámite no es algo antojadizo, responde a los periodos establecidos en el artículo 20 del Código. “El registro electoral suspenderá el proceso de inscripción de ciudadanos y ciudadanas 180 días antes de la fecha señalada para celebrar las elecciones; y la modificación de residencias de ciudadanos y ciudadanas un año antes, debiéndose cerrar definitivamente 120 días antes de la fecha de las elecciones”, reza el mencionado artículo.
De acuerdo con el calendario electoral publicado por el TSE en su sitio web, al finalizar este proceso el ente colegiado iniciará con la fase II, misma que comprende la convocatoria y realización de elecciones internas de partidos políticos para elegir candidatos, cuya fecha límite prevista es el 29 de julio de este año.
Los tiempos varían para el extranjero de acuerdo con el calendario. Actualmente, el RNPN impulsa en el exterior una jornada extraordinaria para trámites de duis. En su cuenta de X la institución ha informado sobre jornadas que se están realizando en Estados Unidos, España y Canadá.
Un punto importante a considerar es que el proceso coincide este año con la renovación masiva de duis (más de 1.6 millones de documentos que se deben renovar); a raíz de ello, el RNPN ha programado reforzar las 24 oficinas que se encuentran alrededor del mundo con personal y equipo para atender trámites de renovaciones y cambios de dirección de residencia, entre otras diligencias, previo los comicios de 2027.
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Rusia mató a 12 trabajadores mineros en un ataque con dron contra un autobús en el este de Ucrania
Al menos 12 personas murieron y otras siete heridas cuando un dron ruso impactó un autobús que trasladaba trabajadores mineros en la región de Dnipropetrovsk, en el centro-este de Ucrania, este domingo, según informaron las autoridades regionales.
El autobús se encontraba en las inmediaciones de Ternivka, una localidad ubicada a aproximadamente 65 kilómetros de la línea del frente, según indicó la policía.
“El dron enemigo impactó cerca de un autobús de transporte de empresa en el distrito de Pavlograd. Preliminarmente, 12 personas murieron y otras siete más resultaron heridas”, dijo Oleksandr Ganzha, jefe de la administración militar regional, en un mensaje en Telegram.
DTEK, la mayor empresa privada de energía de Ucrania, confirmó que las víctimas eran trabajadores que regresaban de una de sus instalaciones mineras en la región tras terminar su turno.
Imágenes publicadas por el servicio de emergencias del Estado ucraniano mostraron el autobús aparentemente vacío, con las ventanas laterales destrozadas y el parabrisas colgando de la parte delantera del vehículo.
Los ataques se produjeron el mismo día en que debía finalizar la reducción unilateral de los ataques rusos contra Ucrania anunciada por el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump. Trump señaló el jueves que el presidente ruso Vladimir Putin había acordado cesar los ataques contra Kiev y “varias ciudades” durante el periodo de bajas temperaturas, aunque los términos del acuerdo no fueron del todo claros y el Kremlin no vinculó la supuesta tregua al clima.
Los ataques no se limitaron a la región de Dnipropetrovsk. Un ataque previo con drones en la misma provincia durante la noche mató a un hombre y a una mujer en la ciudad central de Dnipro, según informó Ganzha en un mensaje anterior.
Más temprano el mismo día, un dron ruso impactó un hospital de maternidad en la región sureña de Zaporizhzhia, hiriendo a al menos siete personas, incluyendo a dos mujeres que se sometían a exámenes médicos en el momento del ataque, según el gobernador regional Ivan Fedórov. Las imágenes publicadas por Fedórov mostraron consultorios devastados, ventanas rotas y escombros dispersos por el suelo del centro sanitario.
En la ciudad de Kherson, en el sur del país, un bombardeo ruso alcanzó el centro urbano la misma mañana del domingo, dejando gravemente herida a una mujer de 59 años.
La fuerza aérea ucraniana indicó en su informe matinal que las defensas del país lograron neutralizar 76 de un total de 90 drones lanzados por Rusia durante la última jornada. Aproximadamente 60 de estos aparatos fueron del modelo Shahed, aunque también se identificaron drones de otros tipos. Los ataques se produjeron entre las 18:00 del sábado y las 8:30 del domingo, lanzados desde regiones rusas y zonas ocupadas en Donetsk. De los 90 drones, 14 lograron impactar en nueve ubicaciones distintas del país.
Estos ataques ocurren mientras las negociaciones de paz entre Rusia, Ucrania y Estados Unidos se preparan para retomar esta semana. El presidente ucraniano Volodimir Zelensky anunció este domingo que la segunda ronda de conversaciones trilaterales está programada para el 4 y 5 de febrero en Abu Dabi.
Zelensky declaró que durante el mes de enero, Rusia lanzó más de 6.000 drones, 5.500 bombas aéreas y 158 misiles contra territorio ucraniano, con ataques dirigidos principalmente contra el sistema energético, las vías férreas y la infraestructura civil. El mandatario ucraniano hizo un nuevo llamado a sus aliados para que suministren más misiles antiaéreos y cazabombarderos F-16.
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