FY2026 NDAA enacted: statutory ban on transgender women in service-academy women's athletics (sec. 559A) and statutory DoD DEI prohibition (sec. 901)

S. 1071, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026, became Public Law 119-60. Section 559A is titled "Prohibition on participation of males in athletic programs or activities at the military service academies that are designated for women or girls." As reported, it bars the Department of Defense from permitting any person "whose sex is male" — defined by reproductive biology and genetics at birth — to participate in an athletic program or activity designated for women or girls at the service academies, while permitting practice or training with women's teams that does not displace female athletes; the ban reaches academy-enrolled athletes rather than visiting competitors. Section 901 separately prohibits DoD diversity, equity and inclusion programs, reported to include employee resource groups organized around sexual orientation or gender identity. The Senate passed its version 77-20 on October 9, 2025; the House agreed to the bicameral compromise 312-112 on December 10, 2025; the Senate concurred 77-20 on December 17, 2025. Advocacy groups report that five of six anti-LGBTQ riders under consideration were dropped in the bicameral agreement, with the academy athletics ban surviving in softened form; it is described as the first federal statutory ban on transgender athletes.