Push for new Cyber Force service branch narrowly fails in the Senate
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on April 30, 2026 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. Graeme Sloan/Getty Images
ByThomas Novelly,
Senior Reporter
June 12, 2026 06:19 PM ET
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s amendment aimed to place a new service under the Army.
An effort to create a new cyber-focused military service under the Army narrowly failed in the Senate, but the lawmaker who proposed it isn’t backing down.
Last month, Defense One exclusively reported that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., was spearheading a markup amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would create a Cyber Force. The effort ultimately failed by a vote of 14-13, with four Democrats and 10 Republicans swatting the amendment down. Nine Democrats and four Republicans voted in favor.
“We remain optimistic about Cyber Force and the Senator will continue to push for its creation,”...
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