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TEED UP FOR FINAL PASSAGE: The Senate is expected to vote as early as tonight to pass the $716 billion National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2019. If sent to President Trump for his certain signature this week, it would mark the first time in two decades the policy bill was enacted before the beginning of the fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. Congress still must pass an appropriations measure to fund the programs authorized in the NDAA, which includes a 2.6 percent pay raise for service members, more planes, ships and weapons, and the first baby steps toward creating Trump’s Space Force. There are already indications the companion appropriations bill may not make the Oct. 1 deadline, especially with the president firing warning shots yesterday over his insistence that U.S. taxpayers pay for the border wall that Mexico won’t agree to fund. SHUTDOWN THREAT: Those warning shots came in the form of a threat to shut down the government if Congress doesn’t cough up the money for his pet border security project and other immigration reforms. “I would be willing to ‘shut down’ government if the Democrats do not give us the votes for Border Security, which includes the Wall! Must get rid of Lottery, Catch & Release etc. and finally go to system of Immigration based on MERIT! We need great people coming into our Country!” Trump tweeted. But among Republicans in Congress, there is little appetite for a showdown over the border wall in September, which could be the same time Trump’s Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh could be facing a confirmation vote. When asked about the possibility of a shutdown in October, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a radio interview on WHAS in Louisville, “No, that’s not going to happen.” PROTECTING ELECTIONS: Trump met Friday with his National Security Council to get an update on what’s being done to prevent Russia or other “malign foreign actors” from meddling in the upcoming U.S. elections. “The President has made it clear that his Administration will not tolerate foreign interference in our elections from any nation state or other malicious actors,” The White House said in a statement issued after the meeting. The White House says the federal government is providing cybersecurity assistance to state and local authorities, and will “investigate, prosecute, and hold accountable those who illegally attempt to interfere in our political and electoral processes.” Before heading over to the NSC meeting Friday morning, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters that U.S. cyber defenses have already been deployed. “Rest assured, there are actions underway to protect our elections or to expose any external efforts by anybody to influence the American public, to show false news, that sort of thing,” Mattis said. “We have ongoing efforts, but I’m not going to go into any details right now.” FORCING TRUMP’S HAND: With the midterms fewer than 100 days away, Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Marco Rubio want to make sure the president doesn’t give Russia a pass this time around. The two have co-sponsored a bill called the DETER Act, which requires the U.S. to impose major sanctions if a foreign government interferes in any federal election. “This bill is very straightforward. It says that if after the election, the director of national intelligence finds that the Russians have interfered in our election, there will be automatic very tough sanctions,” Van Hollen said on MSNBC last night. “After the performance of President Trump with President [Vladimir] Putin, people became very concerned that the president’s not going to protect the integrity of our elections and we also know from Dan Coats, the DNI, that all the warnings are flashing red, that the Russians plan to interfere in our elections again,” Van Hollen said. The next step is hearings on the bill, and the big question is whether the majority leader will allow the measure to come to the floor for a vote. “Mitch McConnell has indicated this is one of the measures he’s looking at,” Van Hollen said. “This is kind of the test over the next three weeks about whether or not the Republican leadership in the Senate and the House is serious about protecting the 2018 elections and serious about protecting our democracy.” TIME FOR SOME HOMEWORK: Socialist congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mistakenly claimed Thursday night that the Pentagon’s budget was increased by $700 billion last year. $700 billion was the total for fiscal 2018, not the increase. She could be excused as just misspeaking, but she also seemed unaware of the intense lobbying by senior military leaders for an end to congressionally imposed spending caps that was putting the military into a readiness spiral. Here’s Ocasio-Cortez said on “The Daily Show” when she discussed how she believed spending priorities should be realigned to meet social needs, such as universal healthcare. “Just last year we gave the military a $700 billion budget increase, which they didn’t even ask for. They’re like, ‘we don’t want another fighter jet.’ They’re like, ‘don’t give us another nuclear bomb.’ They didn’t even ask for it, and we gave it to them. So we need to prioritize what we want as a nation.” Good Monday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Travis J. Tritten (@travis_tritten) and Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24). 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 addresses the Indo-Pacific Business Forum, sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, at 9:15 a.m. Pompeo will unveil America’s “whole-of-government Indo-Pacific strategy,” which according to a State Department release will outline economic and commercial elements of the plan. Axios, which says it was given a preview of the speech last night, says it will have a not-so-subtle message to China’s neighbors that they don’t have to choose Chinese investment over American investment. China has been using its “Belt and Road” initiative to spread its influence around the world with what critics describe as predatory lending. [See: ‘Game of Loans’: How China uses ‘debt-trap diplomacy’ to extend its military reach] “Pompeo is expected to frame the speech as a discussion of the Trump administration’s ‘economic strategy for advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific,’” says Axios, which says the key line in his prepared remarks is: “I am here to say emphatically that the Trump administration is expanding our economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific.” CHINA RUNNING OUT THE CLOCK? Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham continues to point to China as the biggest impediment to a nuclear deal with North Korea. On Fox yesterday, Graham accused Beijing of trying to run the clock out because of the current trade dispute with China. “I think China is undercutting President Trump when it comes to North Korea. But I think North Korea believes that President Trump will not allow them to develop the capability to hit the American homeland with a nuclear weapon. He has set his policy in stone. Complete, verifiable, irreversible,” Graham said. “Iran is watching, Russia is watching. The only way it will get there is to put a deadline on this. President Trump said he wanted this to happen in his first term. I see the timeline slipping. That worries me.” TRUMP WELCOMES CONTE: At the White House today, Trump welcomes one of his new best buddies, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. Trump met Conte at that contentious G-7 summit last month and immediately hit it off with the fellow populist. “Just met the new Prime Minister of Italy, @GiuseppeConteIT, a really great guy. He will be honored in Washington, at the @WhiteHouse, shortly. He will do a great job – the people of Italy got it right!,” Trump tweeted June 9. He also gave Conte a shout-out at the NATO summit this month, noting they have common views. “You see what’s going on throughout the world with immigration. I probably at least partially won an election because of immigration,” Trump said at a NATO news conference. “If you look at Italy, Giuseppe, who I got to know quite well over the last month and a half, he won his election because of strong immigration policies on Italy.” TALKING TO THE TALIBAN: There are now several reports saying the U.S., in a reversal of long-standing policy, is engaging in direct talks with the Taliban in an attempt to jump-start the peace talks after glacial progress on the battlefield. The New York Times reported Saturday that talks took place in Doha, where the Taliban have long maintained an informal political office, and quoted Taliban officials as saying the American diplomats were led by Alice Wells, the State Department’s senior South Asia diplomat. NBC News is also reporting on the talks, citing as its source “current and former U.S. officials.” “The outreach represents the most serious diplomatic effort to end the war in five years but comes at a time when the Taliban is in a position of relative strength on the battlefield, firmly entrenched in rural districts with U.S.-backed Afghan forces unable to turn the tide despite ramped-up American bombing,” the network said. THE SANGUINE SECRETARY: It’s pretty clear that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has adopted a copacetic strategy to cope with his boss’s scattershot policy directives. In two separate engagements with Pentagon reporters Friday, Mattis downplayed Trump’s threats against Iran and Turkey, and insisted nothing had changed policy-wise as a result of the Helsinki summit. He said he’s fine with Trump meeting Putin, and dismissed a recent report suggesting the Trump administration was preparing to launch attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities as “fiction.” On Syria: When asked by a reporter, “Has the president asked you to start working with Russia on the ground in Syria militarily?” Mattis replied. “No.” “My job is to destroy ISIS and to make certain we put in place a local security force, train them up so ISIS can’t get back in.” On Helsinki: Asked “What is your understanding of what came out of the Helsinki summit? What policy changes?” His answer was: “There have been no policy changes that have come out of it.” On Turkey: What about the move in Congress to ban F-35 sales and the spat over the detention of an American pastor? “No impact on U.S.-Turkey relations, military operations at this time. We continue to work very closely together,” Mattis said. On Iran: Asked about Trump’s threat that Iran will “suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before,” should it ever again threaten the U.S., Mattis was steadfast. “Nothing. Nothing has changed.” On Korean War remains: “We don’t know who’s in those boxes. As we discover it, they’ll be returned and they could go to Australia. They have missing, France has missing. … We have no indication that there’s anything amiss. But we don’t know, we can’t confirm it one way or another. That’s why we go through all the forensics.” On Putin: “I have always been in favor, in fact, promoted the idea that we talk with one another,” Mattis said. “It’s most important that we talk with those countries that we have the largest disagreements with. I mean that’s how you repair those disagreements.” MOSCOW MEETING? Trump is not ruling out a trip to Moscow if he receives an invitation from the Kremlin, the White House said Friday. “President Trump looks forward to having President Putin to Washington after the first of the year, and he is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a formal invitation,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. A possible trip to Russia by Trump comes after Putin said Friday he invited Trump to Moscow. A NEW BROOM AT VA: Trump will swear in Robert Wilkie today as his new Veterans Affairs secretary, and the Washington Post reports that among his first acts Wilkie intends to reassign several high-ranking political appointees to form his own leadership team. The Post says Wilkie discussed the proposed personnel moves with Trump in recent days aboard Air Force One, while en route to a veterans convention in Kansas City, and that announcements could come as soon as this week. THE RUNDOWN CNN: Russia’s navy parade: Big show but how much substance? Associated Press: US confirms drones in Niger have striking capabilities Washington Post: Erdogan dismisses Trump’s threat of sanctions over detained American pastor Reuters: Turkey will apply international arbitration if F-35 jet sales blocked, Erdogan says: Haberturk TV Stars and Stripes: Erdogan: Turkey will not back down due to US sanctions Associated Press: Veterans Hail Pyongyang’s Release of US Remains Business Insider: A leaked photo shows that China is building a supercarrier that could rival the US’ Nimitz-class carriers Breaking Defense: DoD, Industry Sparring Over New Cyber Rules, Ellen Lord Says Wall Street Journal: U.S. Envoy, Taliban Officials Meet to Discuss Afghan Peace Talks Reuters: ‘Very positive signals’ after U.S., Taliban talks: sources The Hill: Twelve times Trump surprised the Pentagon USNI News: Pentagon has sold the Defense Industry on Hypersonics Daily Beast: North Korea’s Plan for a Peace to End All Peace Defense News: The US Army’s top modernization priority is in jeopardy New London Day: Sailor who shot himself on submarine previously removed from gun list Military.com: Fallen Air Force Tech. Sergeant to Receive Medal of Honor in August |
CalendarMONDAY | JULY 30 10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Space Force: The pros and cons of creating a new military branch with former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James. brookings.edu 12 noon. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Requirements for a Successful Military Cloud: Best Practices, Innovation and Security. hudson.org 12:30 p.m. 1211 Connecticut Ave. NW. The Nuclear Future: Can There Be Order Without Trust? stimson.org TUESDAY | JULY 31 12 noon. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Reforming the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. hudson.org 6:30 p.m. 14750 Conference Center Dr. Peter B. Teets Award Dinner with Lt. Gen. David Thompson, Vice Commander of Air Force Space Command. ndia.org WEDNESDAY | AUG. 1 10 a.m. Dirksen 419. Nomination Hearing for R. Clarke Cooper to be Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs. foreign.senate.gov 10 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Maritime Security Dialogue: A Conversation with Adm. Karl Schultz, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. csis.org THURSDAY | AUG. 2 7 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd. Institute of Land Warfare Army Cyber + Networks Hot Topic Symposium. ausa.org 8 a.m. 2401 M St. NW. Defense Writers Group Breakfast with Gen. Carlton Everhart, Commander of Air Force Air Mobility Command. FRIDAY | AUG. 3 6:45 a.m. 1250 South Hayes St. Special Topic Breakfast with Kevin Tokarski, Associate Administrator for Strategic Sealift, Maritime Administration. navyleague.org
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ADVERTISEMENT: NDIA invites you to attend the Army Science and Technology Symposium and Showcase August twenty first through twenty third at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in DC. Register today at http://www.ndia.org/ArmyScience |
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