President Biden on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China's growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion despite his objections to language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families.

The defense authorization bill, which directs Pentagon policy, provides a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% increase for others.

President Joe Biden signed the $895 billion National Defense Authorization bill into law even though it included a package that limited transgender care.

A massive raise for junior enlisted troops next year and a ban on some health care for transgender children of service members are now law after President Joe Biden signed the annual defense policy bill on Monday.

The Senate voted on Wednesday to pass a critical defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes a ban against gender-affirming care for transgender children of service members – a provision pushed by Republicans that sparked anger from Democrats.

President Joe Biden has signed a robust defense bill worth $895 billion that raises military spending and pays junior enlisted service members 14.5% more. Despite the bill's positives, Biden expressed strong opposition to a provision added by House Speaker Mike Johnson,

The bill authorizes $15.5 billion for the U.S. Pacific Deterrence Initiative to counter China and $300 million in military assistance to Taiwan.

President Joe Biden has signed into law an annual defense policy bill that calls for maintaining some 28,500 American troops in South Korea and reaffirming the United States' deterrence commitment to the Asian ally,