The Covid-19 vaccine mandate imposed on American troops is set to be repealed in the latest version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual military funding bill that is up for a vote in the House this week.

Congressional Democrats played a hand in incorporating new language in the bill repealing the mandate, handing a public defeat to President Joe Biden just one day after the White House announced its continued support for the mandate, Fox News learned Tuesday. The text of the NDAA is set to be released Wednesday and the bill will be voted on by the House later this week.

The news will be celebrated by a growing list of Republicans, including 20 governors, who sent a joint letter to the Biden administration last week saying the mandate was undermining the National Guard’s recruitment efforts.

Speaking at a panel discussion at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California Saturday, Marine Corps Commandant General David Berger continued to defend the mandate while acknowledging that it has cut into recruitment, particularly in the southern states.

“Where it is having an impact for sure is on recruiting, where in parts of the country there’s still myths and misbeliefs about the back story behind it,” Berger said Military reports.

Berger’s sentiments were echoed by National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, who told press reporters on Monday that Biden and Defense Secretary Llyod Austin continued to support the vaccine mandate and oppose GOP efforts to repeal it.

“Secretary Austin’s been very clear that he opposes the repeal of the vaccine mandate, and the president actually concurs with the secretary of defense,” Kirby said adding that Biden “continues to believe that all Americans, including those in the armed forces, should be vaccinated and boosted for Covid-19.”

Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy played a particularly vocal role throughout the NDAA deliberations, meeting with Biden, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to achieve bipartisan support for the change.

Despite the new language, the latest version of NDAA will not reinstate service members who had their benefits garnished or were discharged from the military for opposing mandatory vaccination. It is expected, however, to include a provision directing the Pentagon to study how to properly compensate those service members.