NDAA BOXES IN TRUMP: Final defense policy legislation unveiled Thursday would spur the renaming of Army bases that honor Confederates and place guardrails on President Donald Trump's plans to pull troops from Germany and Afghanistan. House and Senate Armed Services leaders from both parties clinched a final deal on the National Defense Authorization Act on Wednesday. The $741 billion bill H.R. 6395 (116) is slated for votes in the House and Senate in the coming days, but the measure faces an uncertain fate amid a White House veto threat. Trump has twice threatened to veto the bill. The first came over the summer over base renaming provisions, and the second came on Tuesday over his insistence that the legislation repeal social media legal protections. Lawmakers didn't include a repeal of the online shield law, known as Section 230, in the final bill. It's unclear whether Republicans will buck Trump and override a veto; both the House and Senate passed their original bills with veto-proof majorities. Within the budget topline, the bill authorizes $635.5 billion for the base Pentagon budget and $26.6 billion for nuclear programs under the Energy Department. Another $69 billion goes toward the war-related Overseas Contingency Operations account. When's the vote? Aides say they expect the House to go first with a vote Monday or Tuesday and for the Senate to follow. Further reading: Bill text | Joint explanatory statement | HASC summary Other highlights: Renaming bases: Lawmakers kept a Senate-backed provision that would task an independent commission with recommending the removal of names, symbols and monuments from military assets that honor the Confederacy or people who served in it. The panel's recommendations must be implemented within three years. Germany drawdown: The bill takes aim at Trump's effort to remove thousands of U.S. troops from Germany. It would bar the Pentagon from reducing U.S. troop levels below 34,500 until 120 days after it submits a detailed analysis to Congress of the impact of the move on the security situation in Europe. Afghanistan withdrawal: The NDAA also would bar funding for reducing of troops in Afghanistan below two levels — 4,000, or the total number of troops on the date the bill becomes law if the number is lower, and 2,000 — until the Pentagon submits an assessment of the effect the drawdown would have on U.S. counterterrorism efforts, risks to American personnel and on the risk of expanding terrorist havens, among other criteria. Weapons: The bill authorizes 93 Lockheed Martin-built F-35 fighters, 14 more than the Pentagon requested. Lawmakers also authorized $23.4 billion for the Navy to build nine warships, $3.5 billion more than the budget request. The bill includes a second Virginia-class attack submarine that the Trump administration didn't request in its initial budget, but which topped the Navy's list of unfunded priorities. Pacific Deterrence Initiative: The measure authorizes a Pacific Deterrence Initiative to beef up U.S. military posture and deter China in the region and sets aside $2.2 billion for the fund. Nixing the CMO: The bill eliminates the post of Pentagon chief management officer upon the date of enactment and requires the defense secretary to transfer the CMO's duties to other Pentagon officials within a year of the legislation becoming law. Military gear to cops: Negotiators adopted provisions that would place certain restrictions on transfers of surplus military gear to civilian law enforcement, known as the 1033 program. It prohibits police from obtaining bayonets, grenades, weaponized tracked combat vehicles and weaponized drones. The final bill also would require federal law enforcement officers and members of the armed forces or National Guard deployed in response to public protests to visibly display their name and agency on their uniform. Turkey sanctions: The bill also requires the administration to levy sanctions on Turkey for operating the Russian S-400 air defense system over U.S. objections. No nuke testing: The final bill stripped a provision that was in the Senate version to set aside at least $10 million to prepare for a resumption of live nuclear tests, which the U.S. has not conducted in three decades. But it also left out a House provision that would bar any funds from being used for the purpose. Related: Final defense bill creates a national cyber director, despite White House opposition, via POLITICO's Martin Matishak. More NDAA reading: Final NDAA drops energy, PFAS provisions, expands pipeline sanctions , via POLITICO's Anthony Adragna, Eric Wolff and Annie Snider. Also: Chinese drone ban struck from final NDAA bill, via POLITICO's Stephanie Beasley. COMMITTEE MUSICAL CHAIRS: House Democrats and Republicans approved new leaders of key committees on Thursday. Democrats selected Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut to chair the Appropriations Committee over Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York won out over Rep. Joaquín Castro of Texas to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee. House Republicans also ratified their slate of committee ranking members, including Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama to be the top GOP member on the Armed Services Committee in the new Congress. | 
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