“Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House GOP leaders are moving into uncharted territory,” Punchbowl News reports. “McCarthy has thrown in with the House Freedom Caucus and other hardline conservatives, turning the normally bipartisan annual defense authorization bill into a culture war battlefield. This is expected to be the same template McCarthy will use on the upcoming FY2024 spending bills, even as the threat of a government shutdown looms in October.” “McCarthy faces what’s expected to be a close vote today on final passage of the NDAA package, although the GOP majority will very likely muscle through the 1,200-plus page package on a largely party-line vote.”