Washington — The House on Wednesday approved a $900 billion defense policy bill as both chambers race to pass it before the end of the year.

The legislation — which sets lawmakers' defense priorities and authorizes spending levels for the Defense Department and national security programs — cleared the lower chamber in a bipartisan vote with 312 voting in favor and 112 in opposition.

The final hours before passage were not without some drama as House Speaker Mike Johnson struggled to maintain control of his fractious majority.

A five-minute procedural vote stretched into an hour as a handful of conservatives voted against advancing the measure and a few moderate Republicans withheld their votes, setting up the bill for potential failure. The holdouts ultimately came around to help it ad

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