BROADENING BORDER SECURITY: President Trump, in the latest effort to dissuade a caravan of Central American asylum-seekers from trying to breach the southern border illegally, is invoking what he says is his legal authority to deny asylum to anyone who is a threat to national security. Yesterday, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker announced a new rule that would limit asylum claims to those made at designated ports of entry, “where they would be processed in a controlled, orderly, and lawful manner.”

HAPPENING TODAY — MATTIS AND POMPEO HOST CHINA: Today, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis heads across the river to meet up with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and host top-level security talks with China. The U.S.-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue will include Yang Jiechi, director of the foreign affairs office in the Central Commission of the Communist Party, and Gen. Wei Fenghe, Beijing’s defense minister.

The two sides have a full slate of potential issues to discuss, including China’s military activity in the South China Sea and increased tensions over Trump’s trade policies. Wei and Mattis have met in the past, most recently in Singapore in October. Mattis and Pompeo will hold a joint press conference at 12:35 p.m.

TRUMP LEAVES FOR PARIS: Trump will be joining leaders from 60 countries this weekend to mark the centennial of the armistice that ended World War I, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

Trump will be joined by Pompeo, who along with the president will attend the formal commemoration ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe and will take part in Trump’s meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. Pompeo will attend a separate working lunch with international partners to discuss cooperation on global priorities, including ways to counter Iranian malign behavior and to advance the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, according to the State Department.

SMITH MAKES IT OFFICIAL: It was no surprise but still a big moment in the defense world. Rep. Adam Smith announced Thursday in a letter to fellow Democrats that he is running to be chairman of the Armed Services Committee next year after the party seized the House majority. “Together, we have made strides on national security issues but much more must be done to conduct vigorous oversight of the Trump administration and the Department of Defense,” Smith wrote.

Smith, who was easily re-elected Tuesday, is expected to be elevated from ranking member to chairman by the time the House starts a new session in January, switching places with Rep. Mac Thornberry. Armed Services is known as one of the chamber’s most bipartisan committees. But Smith’s pitch to his caucus includes a raft of partisan priorities. Here is a rundown of his proposals:

• • Cut costs: Reduce inefficiency and waste at the Pentagon, a longtime priority even under Republicans.
  • Civilian casualties: Increase House oversight of “sensitive military operations,” which could mean Yemen, Africa and Syria, and press the military to reduce deaths of civilians overseas.
  • Going green: Protect environmental laws and promote green technology at the Pentagon, a policy priority that largely disappeared with the Obama administration.
  • Fewer nukes: The U.S. is over-reliant on nuclear weapons and the committee should take “substantial steps” to change that. Smith has called it his No. 1 issue.
  • DoD transparency: The committee should push for greater openness from the Pentagon. Smith penned an op-ed last month arguing the military is becoming more secretive and that is threatening national security.
  • Transgender troops: Smith alluded to Democrats’ opposition to a Pentagon plan to bar transgender people from serving in the military. “We need inclusive armed services that can attract the best, most talented people without arbitrary and discriminatory barriers,” he wrote.

TALIBAN IN MOSCOW FOR TALKS: Representatives of the Taliban are in Moscow today for talks sponsored by Russia aimed at finding a way to end the country’s war that is now in its 18th year. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani sent four senior members of his High Peace Council to attend the talks, who could be seen in news photos seated at an oval table with the Taliban delegation. The U.S. is not a part of the talks, but the U.S. Embassy in Moscow sent a diplomat to observe.

In the past, the Taliban have refused direct talks with the Afghan government, insisting it can only end the fighting by negotiating directly with Washington. Yesterday, the State Department announced that Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad is headed to Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar to try to advance the peace process. “He will meet with Afghan government officials and other interested parties to advance the goal of an intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations that include the Taliban and lead to a sustainable peace,” a statement said. “A sustainable peace requires that all Afghans have a say in their country’s future.”

UNLIKELY IRAN ALLY: An ascendant New York lawmaker could provide an unlikely boost to parts of Trump’s foreign policy in the Democratic-controlled House, Iran hawks believe.

Rep. Eliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is poised to take the chairman’s gavel from retiring Republican Ed Royce. While the new Democratic majority is threatening investigations into the Trump administration, Engel’s rise could help fortify one of the administration’s most controversial policies: the president’s crackdown on Iran in the wake of the withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal.

SHOOTER’S MILITARY RECORD: The man who opened fire on a crowd of hundreds, killing 13, in a California bar Wednesday night was a former Marine, according to records released by the service. Ian Long was an enlisted machine gunner who served from 2008 to 2013, including a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan.

Long, who left the service as a corporal after a tour at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, had numerous common Marine Corps awards as well as a Combat Action Ribbon. “The Marine Corps extends its deepest condolences to the families of the victims in this senseless tragedy,” the service said in a statement.

PUTTING THE ‘X’ in EX-MARINE: Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert Neller tweeted out his “Heartfelt condolences to those suffering from the tragic & senseless act of violence #ThousandOaks.” But he added a demotion of sorts for the alleged gunman. “That ex-Marine’s despicable actions run counter to what the vast majority of veterans are rightfully known for: serving w/ honor then making positive contributions to society.”

The use of “ex-Marine” instead of “former Marine” was intentional, Neller’s spokesman told Task & Purpose. “They say ‘once a Marine, always a Marine’ because the title of Marine is something you earn. You can give it away, and you can walk away from it in your actions and deeds,” Lt. Col. Eric Dent told Task & Purpose’s Jeff Schogol. “This is by deed.”

“This guy presumably murdered people,” Dent added. “That’s not what Marines do.”

MORE FEMALE VETS HEADED TO CONGRESS: The incoming Congress will include more than 90 veterans, including a swath of new female members.

At least six female veterans won their races on Tuesday, including Democratic House newcomers Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, and Elaine Luria of Virginia. Each played up their military service on the campaign trail. Sherrill and Houlahan won open seats and Luria knocked off a fellow vet, Virginia Republican Rep. Scott Taylor, a former Navy SEAL.

With final calls on several contests still outstanding, the precise number of veterans who will soon serve in Congress remains unclear. The 93 whose races are decided include 68 Republicans and 25 Democrats. Although this is an overall decrease from the last Congress, it will be an increase in female and young veterans.

McSALLY’S DOGFIGHT: In the back-and-forth contest to fill the Senate seat vacated by Arizona Republican Jeff Flake, Democrat Rep. Kyrsten Sinema has taken a 9,600-vote lead over Rep. Martha McSally, who was ahead until yesterday. Sinema now leads 49.1 to 48.6 percent with 99 percent of the vote in, and just five of 1,489 precincts left to be counted.

If McSally, a combat veteran and fierce defender of the military, loses it would push the Democrats’ total in the Senate to 47, and leave just two races undecided in Florida and Mississippi. So far, Republicans have won 51 seats in the 100-member body.

THE RUNDOWN

Defense News: US defense industry pushes back on White House’s proposed $33B budget cut

New York Times: ‘A Game of Chicken’: U.S. and China Are Risking a Clash at Sea

Daily Beast: Cops Determined Marine Veteran Wasn’t a Danger Before Thousand Oaks, California, Shooting

Task and Purpose: How Mattis Made The Whole Military Obsessed With ‘Lethality’

Breaking Defense: Navy Rushes To Check Contractors After Submarine ‘Debacle’

Air Force Magazine: F-35 Lightning: Airmen Involved in Strike While Working on Eglin Flight Line

Military Times: DoD is sending 7,000 troops to the border. Here’s every unit going.

Defense One: Lower House Poised to Take Upper Hand on National Security