DUNFORD ON THE HOT SEAT: Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appears this morning at 10 before the Senate Armed Services Committee where he is expected to easily win reappointment for another two-year term as the president’s top military adviser. But it’s also a chance for Chairman Sen. John McCain and others to question the chairman over a raft of military issues, including the North Korea threat, spending caps, deadly naval and aviation mishaps and President Trump’s transgender service ban.

New North Korea threats: Senators are likely to pepper Dunford with questions on North Korea following amid an escalating war of words between Trump and Pyongyang. Dunford traveled last month to Asia and held meetings with China, South Korea and Japan. Like Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Dunford has continued to push for a diplomatic solution to the growing crisis over the North’s missile and nuclear tests, but also warned during the trip that the U.S. military stands ready to respond if that fails. Armed Services members may want to know if diplomacy is indeed working and know more about those military options.