Senate OKs defense bill, setting up clash with House over abortion, LGBTQ measures

The Senate passed its annual Pentagon policy bill in a blowout vote Thursday night, setting up battle lines with a conservative version that narrowly cleared the Republican-led House this month.

The bipartisan 86-11 vote capped off two weeks of debate on the $886 billion bill that saw the upper chamber sidestep many of the culture war issues that House members approved largely along party lines.