Mark Esper begins third week on the job, with time running out on his tenure as acting defense secretary

THE PROBLEM: Under the 1998 law, a person working as “an acting officer” may serve in the office “no longer than 210 days beginning on the date the vacancy occurs” or from the date that the person’s “nomination is pending in the Senate.” The clock began running on January 1, the date Mattis left office. Once Esper’s nomination is submitted, he must step aside and perform no duties that would presume his confirmation to the post. Patrick Shanahan did not have to do this for two reasons: He was never formally nominated, and under the law he could serve as acting because as deputy defense secretary he served in a “position of first assistant“ to the secretary.

THE FINESSE: Here’s how things could play out this month to get Esper in place while staying within the law: Esper’s nomination is submitted before the end of the month. He steps aside and the Navy secretary, who is next in line, fills in while the Senate Armed Services Committee chairman, Oklahoma Republican Jim Inhofe, engineers a quick hearing and vote. And by next month, the Pentagon has a confirmed leader for the first time this year. But that’s going to require some legislative gymnastics.

INHOFE’S OTHER BIG WORRY: There are only 20 legislative days left before the Senate is scheduled to take its August recess. And not only does Inhofe have to get the Esper nomination through, he’s among a group of lawmakers increasingly worried about the lack of progress reaching agreement on a bipartisan deal to raise the budget caps.

Inhofe is one of 15 signatories to a letter sent last week to acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, urging them to reach a deal that would avoid a stop-gap continuing resolution that would once again hamstring the Pentagon, just as it is recovering from years of spending limits.

“As the world continues to become more dangerous, the American people rightfully expect their representatives in Washington to put aside political differences and do their jobs. Simply put, our adversaries do not handcuff their militaries with funding gimmicks like continuing resolutions — nor should we,” the letter concludes.

FOUR-STAR SHOCKER: Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. William Moran will retire instead of taking over as the Navy’s top admiral Navy Secretary Richard Spencer announced last night, citing poor judgment regarding a professional relationship.

“Adm. Bill Moran recently brought to my attention that over the past two years he maintained a professional relationship with an individual who was held accountable and counseled for failing to meet the values and standards of the Naval profession,” Spencer said in a written statement reported by the Associated Press. “While I admire his faithful service and commitment to the Navy, this decision on his part to maintain that relationship has caused me to call his judgment into question. Therefore, today I accepted Adm. Moran’s request to retire.”

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 Kelly Jane Torrance (@kjtorrance). Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. 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: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will deliver remarks to the media at 9:15 a.m. in the State Department briefing room. Streamed live at www.state.gov.

ALSO TODAY: The Pentagon will make full use of its River Entrance parade field today as it stages a full armed forces salute to honor the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani this afternoon. Acting Defense Secretary Esper will preside.

HAPPENING THIS WEEK: The summer of change that will see the turnover of five of the seven members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff begins this week when retiring Gen. Robert Neller steps down and hands over the reins to Gen. David Berger, who was just confirmed by the Senate Friday as 38th commandant of the Marine Corps. With the sudden resignation of Adm. William Moran, the current chief of naval operations, Adm. John Richardson is expected to remain in the top job past his planned September retirement.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein and National Guard Bureau Chief Gen. Joseph Lengyel both began their terms in 2016 and would normally serve until 2020.

ALSO THIS WEEK: Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, President Trump’s choice to be his new chairman of the joint chiefs, gets his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday, and the House is set to consider the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, taking the week to work through more than 300 amendments as Republicans seek to restore $17 billion Democrats cut from the $750 billion topline, including funding for low-yield nukes and money for border barrier construction.

WHERE THINGS STAND: Daily on Defense was on vacation last week and will take another summer break the first week of August. So as we return from a long Fourth of July weekend, here’s a quick recap of where we stand in the world’s top hot spots.

KOREA: After President Trump’s historic impromptu third summit at the end of June with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — where Trump became the first U.S. president to step foot on the north side of the DMZ — the work begins to show some tangible progress toward denuclearization.

Secretary of State Pompeo said after the meeting between Trump and Kim that teams from both countries would gather in another week or two in a place to be determined to “start exchanging ideas.”

“The president, by getting together with Chairman Kim,” Pompeo said, “broke through and was able to get us the opportunity to get back to the negotiating table, which I’m excited about.”

IRAN: While the potential for war with Iran was averted when Trump called off a strike on the country in the eleventh hour, tensions continue to simmer, with Iran declaring it will begin enriching uranium above the 3.67% limit agreed to in the 2015 nuclear deal. That level of enrichment is still below bomb grade.

In making the announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Iran was invoking a provision of the agreement that allows it to take “remedial steps” if any or all of the parties to the deal are not living up to the terms. Trump withdrew from the agreement last year.

“Today, Iran is taking its second round of remedial steps under Para 36 of the JCPOA. We reserve the right to continue to exercise legal remedies within JCPOA to protect our interests in the face of US #EconomicTerrorism,” Zarif said on Twitter. “All such steps are reversible only through E3 compliance.”

Speaking to reporters late yesterday in New Jersey, Trump issued a cryptic warning. “Iran better be careful because you enrich for one reason — and I won’t tell you what the reason is, but it’s no good. They better be careful,” he said before boarding Air Force One.

“Iran’s latest expansion of its nuclear program will lead to further isolation and sanctions,” tweeted Pompeo yesterday. “Nations should restore the longstanding standard of no enrichment for Iran’s nuclear program.”

Britain, one of the countries still in the agreement, issued a statement through its foreign office saying that while Iran has broken the terms of the agreement, “the UK remains fully committed to the deal.” It called on Iran to “immediately stop and reverse all activities inconsistent with its obligations.”

AFGHANISTAN: While U.S. diplomats are touting “substantive progress” in peace talks with the Taliban, the group continues to carry out deadly attacks in Afghanistan targeting civilians, including children. For the second time in a week, a suicide bomber inflcited heavy casualties, this time on Ghazni province, where 12 people were killed and more than 170 wounded. Last week, an attack in Kabul killed 6 and wounded more than 100 others, including as many as 50 children.

While condemning both strikes, U.S. special representative Zalmay Khalilzad tweeted the horrific attacks show that “Peace has never been more urgent and is the only path to ending terror and violence.”

On Saturday he had tweeted, “The last 6 days of talks have been the most productive session to date. We made substantive progress on ALL 4 parts of a peace agreement: counter-terrorism assurances, troop withdrawal, participation in intra-Afghan dialogue & negotiations, and permanent & comprehensive ceasefire.”

The Taliban met yesterday for the first time with Afghan officials. The talks are set to resume today in Qatar.

TURKEY: President Trump continues to send mixed messages about Turkey’s refusal to give up its purchase of Russian S-400 air defense missiles, which the Pentagon insists is incompatible with operating and helping to build the U.S. F-35 and could compromise the Joint Strike Figher’s classified stealth technology.

“If Turkey procures the S-400, it will mean they will not receive the F-35. It’s that simple,” said acting Defense Secretary Esper at NATO last month.

But at the G20 summit, President Trump lavished praise on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and blamed President Obama for the problem. “The president was not allowed to buy the Patriot missiles,” said Trump at a joint appearance with Erdogan in Osaka, Japan. “So he buys the other missile, and then, all of a sudden, they say, ‘Well, you can now buy our missile.’ You can’t do business that way. It’s not good. It’s not good.”

For the record, both the Obama and Trump administrations tried to sell Patriot missiles to Turkey, but the deals always fell apart over Turkey’s demands for technology transfers.

With Russia set to deliver the S-400 as soon as this week, the United States could impose sanctions against Turkey under a 2017 law that bars cooperation with U.S. adversaries. “We’re looking at different solutions. It’s a problem, there’s no question about it. We’re looking at different solutions,” Trump said in Japan.

The Rundown

AP: Iraqi Forces Begin Operation Against ISIS Along Syrian Border

AFP: Iran Denies Tanker Detained By UK Was Headed To Syria

Wall Street Journal: Amazon Meetings Draw Scrutiny to Pentagon Project

Defense News: U.S. Navy’s Riverine Boats Are Ready For Great Power Competition

AP: Seized North Korean ship sought for American student’s death

Washington Post: North Korea claims deported Australian student conducted ‘spying acts’

Washington Examiner: Ukrainian special forces capture separatist commander suspected in Malaysia Airlines flight shootdown

Defense News: Lithuania wants a bigger U.S. military presence. Could it happen?

Air Force Magazine: USAF MQ-9 Presence in Eastern Europe Shifts South

USNI News: Navy Says More Experts Coming to Work Ford Carrier Elevator Delays

Washington Examiner: Upcoming documentary just one of many opportunities for acquitted Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher

Washington Times: Economy Gets Tough On Military Recruiters

Washington Examiner: Trump plays it safe on defense appointments

Washington Examiner: Opinion: A new NATO offensive posture must deter Russian nuclear missile forces

The Hill: Opinion: The Department of Defense needs Mark Esper — and a few policy changes

Defense One: UK Defense Secretary: We Need A Stronger NATO Now More Than Ever

Calendar

MONDAY | JULY 8

9 a.m. 801 Mt. Vernon Place N.W. Christians United for Israel holds its two-day Washington summit, featuring remarks from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (via satellite), Vice President Mike Pence, national security adviser John Bolton, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. www.cufi.org

10 a.m. 2301 Constitution Ave. N.W. United States Institute of Peace discussion on “The North Korea Sanctions Regime a Year After Singapore,” with Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, member of the U.N. Panel of Experts; Elizabeth Rosenberg, senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security; Joshua Stanton, blogger for One Free Korea; Daniel Wertz, program manager of the National Committee on North Korea; and Frank Aum, senior expert at the U.S. Institute of Peace. www.usip.org/events

3 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. American Enterprise Institute discussion on “The national security threat of authoritarian corruption: How dictators, terrorists and criminals abuse free markets,” with Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, politics professor at New York University; Daniel Twining, president of the International Republican Institute; and Clay Fuller, fellow at AEI.

3:30 p.m. Pentagon Parade Field. Acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper hosts an armed forces salute in honor of Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. www.defense.gov

TUESDAY | JULY 9

8 a.m. 801 Mt. Vernon Place N.W. Day two of Christians United for Israel’s 2019 Washington summit, with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla.; and Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas. www.cufi.org

8:30 a.m. 300 First Street S.E. Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies discussion on “From Iran to Syria, from Hezbollah to Hamas to Houthis: Middle Eastern Missile Threats,” with Uzi Rubin, senior fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. www.mitchellaerospacepower.org

10:30 a.m. 1779 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace discussion on “Hypersonic Missiles: Assessing the Benefits and Risks,” with R. Jeffrey Smith, managing editor for national security at the Center for Public Integrity; Amy Woolf, nuclear weapons policy specialist at the Congressional Research Service; Dean Wilkening, physicist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; and James Acton, chair and co-director of the CEIP Nuclear Policy Program. carnegieendowment.org

12:30 p.m. 1777 F Street N.W. Council on Foreign Relations discussion with former defense secretary Ash Carter on national security strategies in a rapidly changing world. Moderated by Margaret Brennan, moderator of CBS News’ Face the Nation and senior CBS foreign affairs correspondent. www.cfr.org

3 p.m. 222 Russell. Senate Armed Services Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee hearing on “Implementation of the National Defense Strategy in the United States Southern Command Area of Responsibility,” with Adm. Craig Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command. www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings

3:30 p.m. Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford hosts Military District of Washington Full Honor Arrival Ceremony for Finnish Defense Chief Gen. Jarmo Lindberg, including an awards ceremony for the Legion of Merit. Streamed live at www.facebook.com/TheJointStaff.

WEDNESDAY | JULY 10

8:30 a.m. 300 First Street S.E. Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies discussion on “Nuclear Arms Control and Deterrent Futures: An Assessment,” with Air Force Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, former energy undersecretary for nuclear security, and Madelyn Creedon, president of Green Marble LLC. www.mitchellaerospacepower.org

9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Avenue, N.W. Center for Strategic and International Studies event “Military Advice and the ‘Forever War’ in Afghanistan,” with retired Lt. Gen. David Barno, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; Jonathan Schroden, research program director at CNA; Linda Robinson, senior international/defense researcher at the RAND Corporation; and Mark Cancian, senior adviser at CSIS. www.csis.org/events

10 a.m. HVC-210 Capitol. House Veterans’ Affairs Economic Opportunity Subcommittee hearing on “Economic Well-being of Women Veterans.” veterans.house.gov

11:30 a.m. 2360 Rayburn. House Small Business Committee hearing on “Continuing to Serve: From Military to Entrepreneur.” Witnesses: Davy Leghorn, assistant director of the American Legion; retired Army Capt. Scott Davidson, managing principal and CEO of the GCO Consulting Group, McLean, Va.; Torrance Harrington Hart, owner of Teak and Twine, Springfield, Va.; and Laurie Sayles, president and CEO of Civility Management Solutions, Greenbelt, Md. smallbusiness.house.gov

THURSDAY | JULY 11

8 a.m. 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel. National Defense Industrial Association Integrated Air and Missile Defense Symposium “Defense Against Emerging Threats.” Speakers include: Navy Vice Adm. Jon Hill, director of the Missile Defense Agency, and Richard De Fatta, director of the Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command’s Future Warfare Center.

8:30 a.m. 300 First Street S.E. Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies discussion on “Missile Defense and Directed Energy,” with former Missile Defense Agency director retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Trey Obering, executive vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton. www.mitchellaerospacepower.org

9 a.m. 8th & I Sts. S.E. Retiring Gen. Robert Neller relinquishes command of the U.S. Marine Corps to new commandant Gen. David Berger in a change of command ceremony at the Marine Barracks. www.marines.mil

9:30 a.m. G-50 Dirksen Senate Office Building. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the nomination of Army Gen. Mark Milley for reappointment to the grade of general and to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings

10:30 a.m. 1025 Connecticut Avenue N.W. SETA Foundation discussion on “U.S.-Turkey Relations Three Years After the July 15 Coup Attempt.” Speakers include Mehdi Eker, head of the Turkish Parliamentary Friendship Group for the USA. setadc.org/events

FRIDAY | JULY 12

8:30 a.m. 300 First Street S.E. Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies a discussion on “Missile Defense: A Review and Assessment,” with Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala. www.mitchellaerospacepower.org

11 a.m. Pentagon River Entrance. Acting Defense Secretary Mark Esper welcomes Uzbekistan’s Defense Minister Bakhodir Kurbanov to the Pentagon.