Wednesday’s vote is a radical departure from when House Democrats passed their initial bill in July with no Republican support and only eight progressive Democrats opposing it.

Progressive lawmakers and groups have panned the final legislation as a giveaway to Trump, Senate Republicans and the defense industry after many Democratic provisions in the House didn’t survive final negotiations.

But in the end, just over 40 Democrats voted against the compromise, alongside a handful of Republicans.

House Armed Services Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) defended the legislation that he brokered with his Senate counterpart, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.).

Smith — who has pushed a leftward agenda that includes trimming defense spending, limiting new nuclear weapons and clamping down on Trump’s war powers — called the legislation “the most progressive defense bill in the history of the country.”

Still, the measure doesn’t include many progressive national security priorities such as limits on funding for a Trump's signature border wall with Mexico, withdrawing U.S. support in Yemen's civil war, overturning Trump's transgender troop ban, requiring congressional approval for war with Iran and repealing the 2002 authorization for the Iraq War.

Other Democrats complained the bill doesn’t include broader provisions for the cleanup of toxic PFAS chemicals, though the bill would prohibit their use in firefighting foam by October 2024.

Several liberals contend their party got rolled in negotiations.

"There are many things you can call the bill, but it's Orwellian to call it progressive," said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). "We can't just rhetorically give standing ovations when the president says we're going to end endless wars and continue to vote to fund them."

The White House, meanwhile, hailed the bill for including parental leave — a signature issue for Trump’s daughter and White House adviser, Ivanka — a military pay raise and a new Space Force.

“Wow! All of our priorities have made it into the final NDAA,” Trump wrote on Twitter.

“I will sign this historic defense legislation immediately!” he added.

Wow! All of our priorities have made it into the final NDAA: Pay Raise for our Troops, Rebuilding our Military, Paid Parental Leave, Border Security, and Space Force! Congress – don’t delay this anymore! I will sign this historic defense legislation immediately! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 11, 2019

In a big organizational shift, lawmakers notably agreed to create a Space Force as the sixth armed service within the Air Force and a chief of space operations who would sit on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Trump has called for establishing a Space Force, now a common chant at his political rallies nationwide. But the House first proposed creating a new military space service under the Air Force in 2017. Backers were quick to note that members in both parties pushed the idea before the president.

“Trump’s belated support for a Space Force does not make this a Republican idea,” said Rep. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), who chairs the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee.

The bill also grants 12 weeks of paid parental leave to federal workers, a benefit that extends well beyond the Pentagon. And the agreement would repeal the "widow's tax," an unpopular offset in military survivor benefits offered by the Defense and Veterans Affairs Departments that advocates have sought to eliminate for decades, which will be phased in over three years.

Democratic leaders have underscored both provisions as legislative victories to convince their members to support the legislation.

The $738 billion bill would authorize $635 billion for the base Pentagon spending and $23.1 billion for nuclear weapons programs under the Energy Department as well as $71.5 billion for war operations. It also would authorize another $5.3 billion in emergency disaster recovery for military bases damaged by extreme weather.

The legislation also greenlights a 3.1 percent pay raise for troops, the largest in a decade.

The final bill also would impose sanctions related to Russia's Nord Stream 2 energy pipeline. And it would block Turkey from taking possession of F-35 fighter jets over its decision to buy the S-400 missile system from Russia and urges Trump to sanction Ankara of the purchase.