‘WE FOUGHT THOSE BATTLES’: There is a renewed spirit of bipartisanship as the House Armed Services Committee takes up its version of the annual defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act.
It’s not because the partisan divide in Congress has lessened but rather because with Trump still in the White House and Republicans in the majority in the Senate, Democrats don’t see the point of litigating past grievances only to lose again.
“The issues that, you know, we fought over last year — by and large, those have been resolved,” says House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Smith, who was quick to add, “Not all of them have been resolved to my satisfaction.”
Smith will preside Wednesday morning over the committee’s final version on the fiscal year 2021 NDAA, known as the chairman’s mark, with the $741 billion topline already determined by a bipartisan budget agreement and without last year’s contentious battle over low-yield nuclear weapons or funding for President Trump’s signature border wall.
“We fought those battles. We see the outcome, and so there is not the necessity to fight them again,” Smith told reporters in a conference call Tuesday. “And so I think there’s a greater possibility of getting a bipartisan bill.”
CONFEDERATE LAND MINE: The House version of the NDAA will come out of committee with a strong provision that would require the renaming of 10 Army bases that honor Confederate military leaders within a year, an idea that has suddenly garnered bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.
“These bases were named after Confederate generals in large part as part of the effort in the turn of the 20th century, around that time frame, to reassert white supremacy as the culture,” said Smith. “I think there’s clearly strong support within the committee — and there are Republicans who support it as well — to make these name changes in a comprehensive way.”
The Senate version of the NDAA includes a provision for a commission to review the naming of the Army bases with an eye toward finding new names over a three-year period. Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren has sponsored a separate amendment that is more in line with the House timeline.
Warren took to the floor of the Senate Tuesday to urge Trump to drop his opposition to the measure. “The time for honoring the legacy of men who championed the cause of slavery and white supremacy on military installations is now over.”
Trump, she said, “has instead chosen a well-worn path of hatred and division. So despite the fact that the Department of Defense already has the statutory authority it needs to change these names, it has hesitated to take actions in defiance of the commander in chief.”
TRUMP THREATENS VETO: The NDAA is considered “must-pass” legislation because it authorizes all the spending of the Defense Department, and it has never failed to be enacted in the past 59 years.
“There’s a reason we pass the defense bill every year,” Smith told reporters at a Defense Writers Group online session. “One of the basic duties of our country and our Congress and our legislative process is to provide for the common defense.”
But Trump fired off a tweet just before midnight Tuesday night threatening a showdown over the issue. “I will Veto the Defense Authorization Bill if the Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren (of all people!) Amendment, which will lead to the renaming (plus other bad things!) of Fort Bragg, Fort Robert E. Lee, and many other Military Bases from which we won Two World Wars, is in the Bill!” he tweeted.
DOD ‘NOT A PIGGY BANK’ FOR WALL FUNDING: Unlike last year, the White House has not indicated that it will use Pentagon funds appropriated for other projects for border wall construction, and Smith says the Democrats will not try to claw back the $10 billion Trump reprogrammed from military construction accounts in this year’s budget to pay for his pet project.
“We do not go back and try to recapture that money,” Smith said. “The one thing we do do … is we place a cap on the amount of MILCON money that can be taken for emergency spending. We cap it at $100 million domestic, $500 million foreign”
“I don’t want this president or future presidents to look at MILCON to again, look at MILCON as a piggy bank.”
Good Wednesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by David Sivak and Tyler Van Dyke. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.
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HAPPENING TODAY: As the debate over whether the Trump administration failed to respond adequately to intelligence suggesting Russia was paying bounties to the Taliban to kill U.S. troops becomes increasingly politicized, the White House is planning to brief the so-called Gang of Eight on Wednesday.
The Gang of Eight consists of Senate majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, their deputies, as well as the leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees.
‘THERE WAS EVIDENCE’: Smith, the House armed services chairman, was among the Democrats briefed at the White House Tuesday.
“There was evidence that the Russian government was paying bounties to Afghans to attack coalition partners, not just Americans. There is evidence of that,” he told reporters afterward. “Now, you know, how reliable was that information? Was there other information that contradicted it? Those are larger questions, but yes, there was clear evidence that the Russians were paying the bounties as described.”
Delaware Sen. Chris Coons, a supporter of Joe Biden’s presidential bid, said the White House briefing “filled in some details” but left a lot of questions unanswered. “There is a specific incident in which three U.S. marines were killed, including one from Delaware, Staff Sgt. Christopher Slutman, that is a focus of ongoing discussion.”
“I just heard the suggestion that the White House position is: This wasn’t an issue that rose to the level that required briefing the president,” Coon said on MSNBC. “How is that possible? That if Russia was paying bounties to the Taliban or Haqqani Network or other actors or players in Afghanistan to target American and coalition forces and that resulted in deaths of Americans or coalition partners in the field, how is that not something that rises to the level of the president’s concern?”
‘I WOULD HAVE WALKED STRAIGHT INTO THE OVAL OFFICE’: In an op-ed in the New York Times, former Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice, who is on Biden’s short list for vice president, said she finds it “exceedingly difficult to believe” that no one told Trump about this intelligence.
“Had I, as national security adviser, received even ‘raw’ reporting that Russia was paying to kill U.S. service members, I would have walked straight into the Oval Office to brief the president,” she writes. “I would not have waited until we had absolute certainty.”
MOST INFORMED PERSON ON THE PLANET: At the White House, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany pushed back on the assertion that Trump was ill-informed about the threat to U.S. troops.
“The President does read, and he also consumes intelligence verbally,” she told reporters. “This President, I’ll tell you, is the most informed person on planet Earth when it comes to the threats that we face.”
McEnany suggested that “rogue intelligence” officers who leaked the intelligence to the New York Times are the ones “imperiling our troops’ lives.”
“Are you saying members of the IC [intelligence community] are going after Trump? Is that what you’re saying?” asked a reporter at Tuesday’s briefing.
“It very possibly could be. And if that’s the case, it is absolutely despicable,” she replied.
‘CAN YOU IMAGINE?’ Former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican who headed the House Intelligence Committee from 2011 to 2015, said on CNN, “This isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue. Something broke down in the way that this valuable piece of information was not passed along to policymakers.”
“It was important enough to tell our British allies but not important enough to brief all the policymakers here?” said Rogers, who is now a paid CNN contributor. “All of the elements of the national security team should have sprung into action, to look either deeper into the intelligence or try to find some options to push back on the Russians, even if we weren’t 100% sure,” he told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin.
“I don’t know if it’s dysfunction or they were so absorbed with the Taliban peace process negotiation or releasing the 2,000 Taliban prisoners,” he said. “Can you imagine, Brooke, that the day they get released, they go get a Russian weapon and cash to kill an American?”
WE TAKE ALL THREATS SERIOUSLY: “I want to assure all of our service members that we take seriously any and all potential threats against U.S. military personnel,” said Defense Secretary Mark Esper in a statement tweeted out late last night.
Esper again stated that the Pentagon “has no corroborating evidence at this time to validate the recent allegations regarding malign activity by Russian personnel against U.S. forces in Afghanistan.”
MOVING APACE ON TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM GERMANY: Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley briefed Trump on Tuesday on plans to redeploy 9,500 troops from Germany on his orders.
“The proposal that was approved not only meets the President’s directive, it will also enhance Russian deterrence, strengthen NATO, reassure Allies, improve U.S. strategic flexibility and U.S. European Command’s operational flexibility, and take care of our service members and their families,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The statement said the Pentagon looks forward to briefing this plan to the congressional defense committees in the coming weeks, followed by consultations with NATO allies.
Esper and Milley have agreed to testify before the House Armed Services Committee next week, according to Chairman Smith, who said the subject came up at the White House session Tuesday.
“The way they pitched to us was that we’re not taking troops out of Europe. We wish to reposition them to more forward positions. The president has talked about Poland. There were a couple of other countries that were mentioned as well. So we need to know what they’re talking about doing,” Smith said. “It is possible that there is a scenario where repositioning troops out of Germany is in our national security interests. The president has not made that case to date. The DOD has not made that case, and the president is doing it in a very haphazard manner.”
FEWER BOXES AT SPACE COMMAND: The organizational chart for the new U.S. Space Command has fewer and small boxes.
On Tuesday, the Air Force announced it has finalized the Space Force organizational structure “reflecting the newest branch of the armed forces’ guiding principles of being a lean, agile and mission-focused organization.”
The USSF field organization will consist of three echelons of command: field commands, deltas, and squadrons, whereas the Air Force currently is organized into five echelons. The three field commands are Space Operations Command, Space Systems Command, and Space Training and Readiness Command.
“This is the most significant restructuring of space units undertaken by the United States since the establishment of Air Force Space Command in 1982,” said Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett. “Innovation and efficiency are driving our mission as we position the Space Force to respond with agility to protect our nation’s space capabilities and the American way of life.”
KNOW YOUR IRANIAN LEADERS: The group United Against Nuclear Iran has just published a handy guide to current officials of the Iranian regime.
Available profiles to date include Iran’s new Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s Quds Force Esmail Ghaani, Deputy Commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force Mohammad Hejazi, Lebanese Hezbollah’s Representative in Iraq Mohammad Kawtharani, and more. UANI will continue to add to this library to inform business leaders, policymakers, journalists, and the public of the personalities behind Iran’s malign policies.
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: EXCLUSIVE: Southcom commander says Trump’s ships are saving American lives
Washington Examiner: Pompeo: Iran will ‘endanger’ Russia and China if arms embargo
Washington Examiner: Germany sides with China in fight over Trump Iran threat
New York Times: U.S. Calls For Indefinite Arms Embargo Of Iran, But Finds No Takers
Washington Examiner: Here’s what we know so far about China’s new ‘national security’ law for Hong Kong
AP: Divided West Can Do Little As China Tightens Up On Hong Kong
Washington Examiner: ‘He didn’t know about it’: GOP defends Trump following Russian bounty claim
New York Times: Suspicions of Russian Bounties Were Bolstered by Data on Financial Transfers
Wall Street Journal: NSA Differed From CIA, Others On Russia Bounty Intelligence
ABC News: Marine Commandant Says Families Of Fallen Service Members Are ‘Entitled’ To Answers On Alleged Russian Plot
American Prospect: Did the Military World Games Spread COVID-19?
Washington Post: Use of military contractors shrouds true costs of war. Washington wants it that way, study says.
Navy Times: CNO To Stand Up Navy Task Force On Race And Inclusion
Stars and Stripes: Taser-Like Shotgun Round Could Let Marines Stun People A Football Field Away
Just the News: Black Medal of Honor hero from World War I is subject of new graphic novel
Foxnews.com: Opinion, Rep. Jim Banks: Russian bounties to Taliban story may be putting US lives at risk — here’s how
War on the Rocks: Opinion: Reflections on the curse of racism in the U.S. military.
Military Times: Officials continue to throw Capt. Brett Crozier under the bus for outbreak on Navy carrier
Calendar
WEDNESDAY | JULY 1
10 a.m. Longworth 1100 and Cisco Webex — Full House Armed Services markup of National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
10 a.m. — Air Force Association Mitchell Institute Aerospace Nation webcast: “A Conversation with the Commander of Air Force Materiel Command,” with Gen. Arnold Bunch. Invitation only, but a recording will be posted afterward at https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org/aerospace-nation.
11 a.m. — Brookings Institution webinar: “Assessing the State of the Air Force.” with Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein. https://www.brookings.edu/events
11 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace webcast: “Twenty Years After Camp David: Where do Palestinians and Israelis Go From Here?” with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak; former Palestinian Foreign Minister Nabeel Shaath; and Aaron David Miller, senior fellow at CEIP. https://carnegieendowment.org
1 p.m. — Aspen Security Forum book discussion webcast: “Exercise of Power: A Conversation with Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates,” moderated by Anja Manuel, director, Aspen Strategy Group. https://aspeninst.zoom.us/webinar/register
1 p.m. — Center for Security Policy webinar: “The Chinese Communist Party is Our Enemy – And What We Must Do to Defeat It,” with Frank Gaffney, vice chairman, Committee on the Present Danger: China; and Steve Bannon, former chief strategist to President Trump. https://register.gotowebinar.com/register
2 p.m. — Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies webcast with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on American foreign policy priorities during and after COVID-19. https://fedsoc.org/events/capital-conversations
4 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast: “Civics as a National Security Imperative: Addressing Racial Injustice – Part 1: Racial Injustice as a National Security Threat,” with former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson; Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, former general counsel to the CIA and NSA; and Wyndee Parker, national security adviser to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. https://www.csis.org/events/online-event-civics
THURSDAY I JULY 2
10 a.m. — Middle East Institute “Defense Leadership” series webinar: “U.S. Middle East policy during the Obama administration and future U.S. strategy for the region,” with former Defense Undersecretary for Policy James Miller; and Bilal Saab, MEI Defense and Security Program director https://www.mei.edu/events/mei-defense
2 p.m. — Brookings Institution webinar: “The National Guard in the Era of COVID-19,” with Gen. Joseph Lengyel, chief of the National Guard Bureau. https://www.brookings.edu/events
FRIDAY | JULY 3
Independence Day holiday — The U.S. military will conduct a “Salute to America” flyover at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, where President Trump and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem will preside over a fireworks display.
TUESDAY | JULY 7
9 a.m. — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group conference call conversation with Robert Wilkie, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. https://nationalsecuritymedia.gwu.edu
5 p.m. — George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School “NatSec Nightcap,” with Lisa Monaco, former White House homeland security and counterterrorism adviser. https://nationalsecurity.gmu.edu/natsec-nightcap
THURSDAY | JULY 9
1 p.m. Capitol Visitor Center Auditorium/Virtual — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “Department of Defense Authorities and Roles Related to Civilian Law Enforcement,” with Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This president, I’ll tell you, is the most informed person on planet Earth when it comes to the threats that we face.”
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, at Tuesday’s briefing.
