Adam Smith plays weak hand as he argues for $17 billion cut to Trump’s Pentagon budget

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GET IT DONE: If House Armed Services Chairman Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., had one message in his two public appearances Monday, it’s that he’s “absolutely committed” to getting the National Defense Authorization Act past his committee, even if he has to back down from the position he staked out in his “Chairman’s Mark” release.

“It is really important that we pass this bill and implement the policy that’s necessary to help move forward the Department of Defense,” Smith said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “The importance of that being bipartisan cannot be overstated,” he said, hinting that everything he’s proposed is open to compromise. “We are not trying to score political points with this bill. We’re trying to produce the best possible product.”

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