THE FIGHT OF HIS LIFE: Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, a legendary Marine commander, has been in many battles in his more than 40 years in uniform. But this week he faces a foe that has inflicted more damage on the U.S. military than any foreign adversary, and which his immediate predecessors have failed to vanquish: the congressionally-imposed spending limits known as sequestration. His testimony last night before the House Armed Services Committee was just the opening salvo of a week-long campaign to convince a skeptical Congress that he needs every dime of the Pentagon’s 2018 $575 billion baseline budget request, and that the massive military buildup promised by the president will come, just not this year. This morning at 9:30, the front lines shift to the Senate Armed Services Committee, where Mattis, along with Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, will again face scrutiny from defense hawks such as Sen. John McCain, who believe the $52 billion proposed increase is inadequate to the challenges facing a military weary from 16 years of non-stop war. It was a theme pounded by House Armed Services Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry. “We cannot wait until we solve our budget problems to adequately fund our military. We cannot wait until we perfect our acquisition system to have planes that fly and ships that sail,” Thornberry said in his opening statement. “The world is not stopping and waiting on us to get our act together. … We cannot keep piling missions on our service members without ensuring they have all they need to succeed.”

Mattis’ answer: “It took us years to get into this situation. It will require years of stable budgets and increased funding to get out of it.” He is pleading with Congress to do three things: Increase the budget caps so the full $52 billion increase can be approved; pass a real budget instead of stopgap continuing resolutions; and repeal or revise the 2011 Budget Control Act that imposed sequestration on all federal agencies.