YESPER THE YES MAN? Asked about reports that Defense Secretary Mark Esper may be replaced after the election, President Trump did little to tamp down the speculation and even seemed to mock Esper’s efforts to stay on Trump’s good side even as he opposed some of his policies.
“Mark ‘Yesper’? Did you call him ‘Yesper’?” Trump replied Friday when a reporter asked if he still has confidence in his Pentagon chief. “Some people call him ‘Yesper.’” Trump said, before adding, “I get along with him. I get along with him fine. He’s fine.”
WALKING A TIGHTROPE: Last week, Bloomberg reported that the two are headed for a divorce, with Trump privately saying he intends to replace Esper after the November election and Esper privately saying he plans to leave regardless of the outcome.
“Trump has been frustrated that Esper, who became secretary in July 2019, hasn’t done more to publicly defend him on key issues, including reports that Russia paid Taliban fighters ‘bounties’ for the killing of U.S. troops in Afghanistan,” Bloomberg said.
Asked directly if he planned to fire Esper, Trump replied, “I consider firing everybody. At some point, that’s what happens.”
CABINET RESHUFFLE: It’s not uncommon for presidents to shuffle their Cabinets if they win a second term, and Trump indicated that’s probably what he would do.
“I mean, generally speaking, a lot of times, I understand when, if we win, a president will ask for the resignation of everybody and then bring back the people he wants. That’s happened before … and I could see something like that happening. I think that makes sense,” he said.
“I have a very good Cabinet, I mean, with few exceptions,” he added cryptically. “I wouldn’t say I’m thrilled with everybody, frankly. But overall, I think we have a very good Cabinet.”
CUTTING MILITARY HEALTHCARE? Esper’s spokesman got into a little back-and-forth with Politico on Sunday over a report headlined “Esper eyes $2.2 billion cut to military health care.”
“Today’s story by @politico regarding cuts to military healthcare is inaccurate and incomplete,” tweeted Chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman. “Secretary Esper has neither directed nor reviewed, let alone approved, any cuts to military healthcare in the upcoming budget and the FYDP.”
“The facts are as follows: this year’s Defense Wide Review is being run by the Chief Management Officer who has been tasked with identifying $5 billion in savings out of the fourth estate’s $100 billion budget to reinvest in military modernization,” he said. “@EsperDoD has not yet been briefed on, nor seen, any of the CMO’s recommendations.”
POLITICO PROTESTS: “This is a deliberate misrepresentation of the story,” tweeted Lara Seligman, one of the reporters who wrote the story. “We never said Esper had directed the cut, but that it was a proposal in the works. I also contacted him about this story at 7am on Thursday, so he knew it was coming. We stand by our story.”
“The story does not say Esper has directed, reviewed or approved the cuts. The first paragraph says defense officials who are working on Esper’s overall review are proposing the cut,” tweeted Politico’s Dave Brown, who invited readers to “read for yourself.”
Good Monday 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 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: The Democrats begin their four-day virtual national convention to nominate Joe Biden as their standard-bearer to challenge President Trump in the Nov. 3 election. The event will take place on four stages in New York City, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and Wilmington, in Biden’s home state of Delaware.
No actual business will be conducted. Instead, the “convention” will feature four days of taped and live prime-time speeches by prominent Democrats, including former President Barack Obama and many of the candidates whom Biden defeated in the primaries, all interspersed with highly produced long-form campaign ads.
TRUMP ON FOX & FRIENDS: As the Democrats get set for their big event, President Trump plans to phone in to Fox & Friends during the 8 a.m. hour this morning.
“Trump’s interview with Fox News Channel’s morning show comes as his campaign launches a four-day advertising blitz, aggressively inundating digital platforms with front-page takeovers and banner ads, targeting more than just political programs,” Fox said in a release promoting the interview.
ALSO TODAY: The United States and Russia began a second round of nuclear disarmament talks in Vienna.
“Negotiations about to start. The U.S. is prepared for a serious dialogue,” tweeted U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea before his meeting with and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
The first meeting between the two arms negotiators ended in June with no reported progress. The 2010 New START treaty, which limits each side to 1,550 deployable nuclear warheads, expires in February but can be extended for five years by mutual agreement.
PARDON FOR SNOWDEN? The man whom President Trump as a candidate once called a “traitor” and a “spy who should be executed” now is under consideration for a presidential pardon, which would allow him to return to the U.S. from his exile in Russia.
Edward Snowden, a former NSA contractor, is viewed as a whistleblower by some but as a treasonous leaker by members of the intelligence community for disclosing classified information about the extent of a surveillance program that included the collection of domestic phone records.
“It seems to be a split decision,” Trump said Friday. “Many people think that he should be somehow treated differently, and other people think he did very bad things.”
Asked directly if he would grant Snowden a pardon, Trump said, “I’m going to look at it. I mean, I’m not that aware of the Snowden situation, but I’m going to start looking at it.”
‘UNCONSCIONABLE’: “Edward Snowden is a traitor. He is responsible for the largest and most damaging release of classified info in US history,” tweeted Wyoming Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, who has been increasingly willing to criticize Trump on national security issues.
“He handed over US secrets to Russian and Chinese intelligence putting our troops and our nation at risk. Pardoning him would be unconscionable,” Cheney said.
“Edward Snowden is a traitor and should not be pardoned,” tweeted Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican who included a link to a 2016 congressional report that concluded, “Snowden caused tremendous damage to national security and the vast majority of documents he stole have nothing to do with programs impacting individual privacy interest — they instead pertain to military, defense, and intelligence programs of great interest to America’s adversaries.”
INDUSTRY WATCH: Air Force and Space Force leaders were blanketing Twitter with congratulatory messages after an Air Force and Boeing team won the prestigious Robert J. Collier Trophy for its achievements with the X-37B autonomous spaceplane.
“The National Aeronautic Association awarded the 2019 Collier to the X-37B for advancing the performance, efficiency and safety of air and space vehicles,” said Boeing in a statement. “Designed and built by Boeing, operated in partnership with the U.S. Space Force, and managed by the U.S. Department of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, the X-37B is a reliable, reusable, uncrewed space test platform designed to carry experiments to orbit and return them to Earth for evaluation.”
“In 2019, the X-37B set a new 780-day on-orbit endurance record before landing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The program has logged more than 2,865 days and traveled more than 1 billion miles on orbit in total,” the company said.
The Rundown
Washington Examiner: ‘We’ve rejected that’: Robert O’Brien says Trump won’t host Putin for in-person summit before election
Washington Examiner: Brutal Belarus crackdown sets back US effort to pry nation from Russia’s orbit
Reuters: NATO Denies Belarus Claim Of Military Buildup, But Watching Situation
Washington Examiner: GOP congressman urges fellow Republicans to denounce QAnon conspiracy theory
Washington Examiner: Southern Command eyes Venezuela’s illicit connections and Iranian patronage
Wall Street Journal: To Get Tougher on China, Trump Needs U.S. Navy, Which Is Straining
Los Angeles Times: Hong Kong Media Choked By China
Politico: Esper eyes $2.2 billion cut to military health care
Washington Examiner: Pentagon announces UFO task force
AP: Pompeo Inks Deal To Support More American Troops In Poland
Space News: U.S. Army General To Be Sworn In As Space Commander
Air Force Magazine: USAF to Create New 15th Air Force
Wall Street Journal: Trump Says He Plans to Move Next Week to Reinstate Iran Sanctions
USNI News: Iranians Raided Tanker Off UAE Searching for 1M Barrels of Petroleum Seized by U.S.; DOJ: ‘They Were Looking For Their Gas’
Military.com: Fake News Is Wreaking Havoc On The Battlefield. Here’s What The Military’s Doing About It
AP: Somalia forces end rebel siege of Mogadishu hotel; 15 killed
Air Force Magazine: Bass Becomes First Woman, Asian American to Serve as CMSAF
CNN: Why The U.S. Military’s Engagement With Gen Z On Twitch Is Increasingly Under Scrutiny
Marine Corps Times: For 8 Years Former Marine Capt. Austin Tice Has Been Held Hostage
Breaking Defense: Iran Threat Sparks UAE-Israel Deal; US & Israeli F-35s Practice Killing SAMs
Wall Street Journal: Opinion: John Bolton: Iran ‘Snapback’ Isn’t Worth the Risk
Calendar
MONDAY | AUGUST 17
1 p.m. — Mitchell Institute Aerospace Nation webcast with Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy. https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org/aerospace-nation
11 a.m. — National Defense Industrial Association iFEST 2020 Online Conference, with the theme “Working Out What Works: Creating Value from Innovation,” with Lisa Hershman, Pentagon chief management officer. https://www.trainingsystems.org/events
12 p.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion about key foreign policy priorities for the next presidential administration and the future of U.S. leadership with former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Frederick Kempe, president and CEO of the Atlantic Council. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event
2 p.m. — McCain Institute book discussion webinar on “America in the World: A History of U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy,” with author Robert Zoellick, former deputy secretary of state and former World Bank president. https://www.mccaininstitute.org/events
9 p.m. — Democratic National Convention, Day 1, with former First Lady Michelle Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Jim Clyburn, Convention Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, Rep. Gwen Moore, Former Gov. John Kasich, Sen. Doug Jones, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar. https://www.youtube.com/watch
TUESDAY | AUGUST 18
12 p.m. — Atlantic Council webinar: “The Status of the Fight Against ISIS,” with Christopher Maier, director of the Pentagon’s Defeat ISIS Task Force; Robert Rohde, ambassador for the negotiations on Syria and head of the German Federal Foreign Office’s Division for Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Anti-ISIS Strategy; Jomana Qaddour, nonresident senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Center for the Middle East; and Jasmine El-Gamal, nonresident senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Security Initiative. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event
1 p.m. — Heritage Foundation virtual discussion: “Homeland Missile Defense: Plotting a Clear Path Forward,” with Vice Adm. Jon Hill, director, Missile Defense Agency; Rebeccah Heinrichs, senior fellow, Hudson Institute; Patty-Jane Geller, policy analyst, Nuclear Deterrence and Missile Defense, Heritage Foundation. https://www.heritage.org/missile-defense
2 p.m. — Woodrow Wilson Center book discussion webcast on “U.S. Strategy in the Asian Century,” with author Abraham Denmark, director of the WWC Asia Program. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event
5 p.m. — The Institute of World Politics virtual discussion: “Countering Islamist Political Extremism by Orchestrating the Instruments of National Power,” with Christopher Harmon, chair at Marine Corps University; and Douglas Streusand, international relations professor at the U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College. https://www.iwp.edu/events/webinar
9 p.m. — Democratic National Convention, Day 2, with former Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, former Secretary of State John Kerry, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, former President Bill Clinton, and former Second Lady Jill Biden. https://www.youtube.com/watch
WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 19
8 a.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion on “Emerging defense technologies in the Indo-Pacific and the future of U.S.-Japan cooperation,” with retired Marine Gen. James Cartwright, board director at the Atlantic Council and former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Ryo Hinata-Yamaguchi, visiting professor at Pusan National University and adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum; Sarah Kirchberger, head of the University of Kiel Center for Asia-Pacific Strategy and Security; and Tate Nurkin, founder of OTH Intelligence Group. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event
9:30 a.m. — Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies webinar: “Nuclear Deterrence” with Air Force Lt. Gen. Richard Clark, deputy chief of staff for strategic deterrence and nuclear integration. https://www.mitchellaerospacepower.org
10 a.m. — Brookings Institution webinar: “How the United States Can Use Force Short of War,” Barry Blechman, fellow at the Stimson Center and co-author of “Military Coercion and U.S. Foreign Policy”; Melanie Sisson, nonresident fellow at the Stimson Center and co-author of “Military Coercion and U.S. Foreign Policy”; and Michael O’Hanlon, Brookings senior fellow. https://www.brookings.edu/events
10 a.m. — National Council of Resistance of Iran-U.S. virtual discussion: “Extension of the UN Arms Embargo, Internal Situation in Iran and U.S. Policy of Maximum Pressure.” with: former Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, vice chair of the Atlantic Council Center for Strategy and Security; former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph, former special assistant to the president and senior director for proliferation strategy, counterproliferation and homeland defense; Matthew Kroenig, deputy director Atlantic Council Center for Strategy and Security; David Shedd, visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation, former acting director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and former special assistant to the president and senior director for intelligence programs and reform; and Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the NCRI-US Washington Office https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
12 p.m. — R Street Institute webinar: “Everything on the Table: The Case for Rethinking the Pentagon Budget,” with Andrew Lautz, policy and government affairs manager at the National Taxpayers Union; Mandy Smithberger, director of the Project on Government Oversight Center for Defense Information; Wendy Jordan, senior policy analyst at Taxpayers for Common Sense; and Jonathan Bydlak, director of the R Street Institute’s Fiscal and Budget Policy Project. https://www.rstreet.org/event
1 p.m. — American Society of International Law webinar: “International Law and the 2020 Presidential Election: Cyber Threats and Election Interference,” with Susan Benesch, faculty associate at Harvard University’s Center for Internet and Society; Carrie Cordero, senior fellow and general counsel at the Center for a New American Security; Jamil Jaffer, founder and executive director of George Mason University’s National Security Institute; and Chimene Keitner, professor of law at the University of California at San Francisco’s Hastings School of Law. https://www.asil.org/event
9 p.m. — Democratic National Convention, Day 3 with the formal nomination of Sen. Kamala Harris and featuring former President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Gov. Tony Evers, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. https://www.youtube.com/watch
THURSDAY | AUGUST 20
9:30 a.m. — National Defense Industrial Association virtual “Space Warfighting Industry” forum, with Air Force Lt. Gen. David Thompson, vice commander of U.S. Space Force; Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo.; Rep. Denny Heck, D-Wash.; and Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio. https://www.ndia.org/events
9 p.m. — Former Vice President Joe Biden accepts nomination for president at the final day of the Democratic National Convention, with Sen. Cory Booker, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Sen. Chris Coons. https://www.youtube.com/watch
FRIDAY | AUGUST 21
9:30 a.m. — National Defense Industrial Association virtual “Space Warfighting Industry” forum, with Army Lt. Gen. James Dickinson, deputy commander of U.S. Space Command. https://www.ndia.org/events
MONDAY | SEPTEMBER 7
Labor Day — Daily on Defense will not be published as we observe the federal holiday.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It wouldn’t surprise me if the president is eventually nominated for a Nobel Prize for this. Today’s work is an example of why he would be rightly considered and should be a front-runner for the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Robert O’Brien, national security adviser, at a White House briefing on the cooperation agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
