Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., walks from the chamber to speak with reporters after the final vote to bring the longest government shutdown in history to an end at the Capitol in Washington Nov. 12, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
The House Rules Committee is the final gatekeeper before most pieces of legislation get a chamber-wide vote. Lawmakers on the panel are responsible for setting terms of debate on a bill, including deciding which amendments, if any, can be voted on.
The next step is generally a House-wide procedural vote, called a rule vote, where lawmakers decide whether to green-light debating the bill.
Fox News Digital was told earlier this week that House GOP leaders hope to hold the NDAA vote in the early evening Wednesday.
But questions about whether the bill could pass a chamber-wide rule vote earlier in the day began popping up soon after the 3,000-page bill was unveiled Sunday night.
Rule votes generally fall along party lines even if the underlying measure has bipartisan support. And with a razor-thin majority, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can only afford to lose two GOP votes and still win.
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Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, arrives at the U.S. Capitol Oct. 3, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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And Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said he was likely going to vote "no" on the rule vote Wednesday.
It was a good sign, however, that the House Rules Committee's three House Freedom Caucus members — Reps. Morgan Griffith, R-Va.; Chip Roy, R-Texas; and Ralph Norman, R-S.C. — all voted to advance it to a chamber-wide vote.
The vast majority of House Republicans are also supportive of the legislation, pointing out it includes multiple measures codifying Trump's agenda, ramping up the U.S.'s capabilities against China and other adversaries, as well as providing a pay increase for service members.
House GOP leaders have the option of putting the bill up under suspension of the rules, meaning it bypasses that procedural hurdle in exchange for raising the passage threshold to two-thirds rather than a simple majority.
The NDAA itself is likely to pass along bipartisan lines, but it's unclear how many Democrats will help.
Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said he would vote for the NDAA despite concerns "with how a number of issues were handled by the Speaker and the White House during final negotiations," he said in a statement.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
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