If there is one takeaway from the ongoing congressional negotiations over the National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes funding for the Department of Defense, it is that moderate Democrats up for reelection next year recognize this agenda won’t fly when it comes to the U.S. military.

The House, controlled by Republicans, stripped DEI programs and staff from the Pentagon. More interesting, though, is the Senate version of the bill. That body is controlled by Democrats, and the bill that came out of the Senate Armed Services Committee had to have the support of at least one Democrat—possibly more.

The Senate bill nonetheless imposes a hiring freeze on all DEI employees, prohibits the Defense Department from filling any DEI vacancies, and caps pay for any DEI employee at $70,000.

[This is a significant concession on a flashpoint topic for progressives. The rollback may not go as far as the House bill does, but it still would be a significant retreat. That’s a good signal that conservatives are winning this political fight. And that means we have to keep pressing it on all fronts, even while taking the incremental wins along the way. — Ed]