As one interim spy chief’s term expires, Trump appoints an ‘acting’ replacement

Maguire, who took over after the resignation of Dan Coats, played a crucial role in the beginning of the impeachment process, eventually forwarding a whistleblower complaint to Congress as required by law, but against the wishes of the White House. Under law, Maguire could only serve as acting director until next month and in his tweet Trump indicated no animus over Maquire’s unavoidable role in impeachment, thanking him for “the wonderful job,” he did and suggesting he might serve “in another capacity within the administration.”

NO REAPPROVAL REQUIRED: Because Grenell has already won Senate confirmation as an ambassador, he can fill the job overseeing America’s 17 intelligence agencies on an acting basis, even though under the law that created the position he needs extensive proficiency in the post.

The 2004 law, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act passed in the wake of intelligence failures leading up to the Sept. 11 attacks, specifies one key job requirement for the person designated as the Intelligence Community principal intelligence adviser to the president.

Section 102(a) of the law states, “Any individual nominated for appointment as Director of National Intelligence shall have extensive national security expertise.” Grenell’s background is in communications and diplomacy.

INFURIATING THE DEMOCRATS: Trump’s preference for appointing acting Cabinet and agency heads, flouting the norms of governance while staying within the law, is infuriating Democrats in Congress.

“The President has selected an individual without any intelligence experience to serve as the leader of the nation’s intelligence community in an acting capacity,” fumed Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

“This is the second acting director the President has named to the role since the resignation of Dan Coats, apparently in an effort to sidestep the Senate’s constitutional authority to advise and consent on such critical national security positions,” Warner said in statement. “Now more than ever our country needs a Senate-confirmed intelligence director who will provide the best intelligence and analysis, regardless of whether or not it’s expedient for the President who has appointed him.”

Last year, when Trump tapped Texas Republican Rep. John Ratcliffe to succeed Coats, it soon became clear he was uncomfirmable because of his lack of statutory-required intelligence experience, and he withdrew.

ROOD DEPARTURE: Meanwhile over at the Pentagon, Trump has removed another senior official. John Rood, who as undersecretary of defense for policy, is the Pentagon’s No. 3 civilian, made it clear in his letter of resignation he was fired.

“It’s my understanding from Secretary Esper that you requested my resignation,” the letter began. Rood ran afoul of Trump by providing a required certification to Congress last year that Ukraine had made changes needed to receive $250 million in U.S. security assistance, at a time when Trump was seeking to withhold the aid. Trump said he was concerned about corruption in Ukraine, Democrats alleged the move was aimed at pressuring Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky into investigating Joe Biden.

“I would like to thank John Rood for his service to our Country, and wish him well in his future endeavors!” Trump tweeted.

At the Pentagon, spokesman Jonathan Hoffman was not able to confirm whether the Ukraine matter had anything to do with Rood’s firing. “I have no information that would lead me to that conclusion,” Hoffman told reporters at a Pentagon briefing.

“The president has the opportunity and the ability to have the team that he wants to have in policy positions throughout the federal government. That’s why we have political appointees,” he said. “I’m not going to speculate on the motivations. That would be inappropriate from my position.”

James Anderson, currently performing the duties of the deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, will take over for Rood until a permanent replacement is nominated and confirmed by the Senate, according to Pentagon Press Secretary Alyssa Farah.

Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Susan Katz Keating (@SKatzKeating). Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. 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: Brian Hook, the State Department’s special representative for Iran, holds an on-camera, on-the-record briefing at 10:30 a.m., which will be streamed live on www.state.gov.

SHOW AND TELL: At the Pentagon yesterday afternoon, reporters were given a slide show presentation documenting the flow of deadly Iranian-made weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen, including sophisticated anti-tank and surface-to-air missiles missiles that were seized by U.S. warships in the Arabian Sea.

You can watch the full briefing conducted by Navy Capt. Bill Urban, chief spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, here.

“Some of these weapons were Iranian copies of Russian-made weapons, and some were uniquely designed by Iran and found nowhere else in the world,” Urban said. “The United States is confident that these weapons fit the pattern of weapon smuggling to the Houthis in Yemen which Iran has been engaged in for at least five years … There is no doubt to where these weapons came from or where they were going.”

NEW THREAT: The weapons seized by the U.S. Navy cruiser USS Normandy and destroyer USS Forrest Sherman included a new type of anti-aircraft missile that is capable of loitering and is designed to avoid air defenses while shooting down helicopters and other aircraft, according to a report in the New York Times.

“The missiles consist of three parts: two motors and an explosive warhead. The weapon can be assembled after shipment and fired from a crude launcher on the ground. Once the missile is fired and traveling fast enough, a solid-fuel boost motor falls away and a cruise motor takes over; at that point, the weapon flies in a figure-eight pattern and looks for targets,” the paper said, citing a “military official familiar with the weapons.”

In his briefing, Urban referred to “Iranian-designed and manufactured 358 surface-to-air missiles,” as “a relatively new weapon,” “seen nowhere else in the world,” and “exported only to Iranian proxies.”

“I’m not going to be able to talk about what we know about the 358 missile,” he said. “It is a uniquely Iranian designed missile and I’m just not going to be able to talk about it at this point.”

KEY QUESTION ABOUT DEAL WITH TALIBAN: The Pentagon says it will be up to U.S. Afghanistan commander Gen. Scott Miller to determine if the Taliban has adequately held its fire once the seven-day “reduction of violence” agreement takes effect.

But in order to make that assessment the U.S. will need to be able to quickly assign responsibility for any attacks that take place, in order to separate the Taliban from ISIS or other terrorist groups in Afghanistan.

What if the Taliban carries out an attack, but disavows responsibility? Or if ISIS tries to blame the Taliban for something it did in an attempt to undermine the peace agreement?

“We’re not going to use, you know, the Taliban Twitter account as the gold standard for what has and has not happened in Afghanistan,” said Pentagon spokesman Hoffman. “We will continue, as we always have, to do our own investigations and reach our own conclusions.

POMPEO’S OTHER TWITTER HANDLE: Last summer Secretary of State Mike Pompeo began tweeting from a new, verified personal Twitter account @mikepompeo in addition to his official @SecPompeo account.

The account has fueled speculation that despite his insistence to the contrary, Pompeo is looking toward the end of his tenure as America’s top diplomat, and eying a possible Senate run from his home state of Kansas.

Last year, in an interview with Fox and Friends, President Trump suggested that while Pompeo would prefer to stay in his current job, he would take one for the team if it looked as though a Democrat might win the Senate election against a weak Republican candidate. “If he thought that there was a chance of losing that seat, I think he would do that and he would win in a landslide because they love him in Kansas,” Trump said.

The Washington Post’s Josh Rogan points out that Pompeo has plenty of time to decide before the official filing deadline in June, and reports Trump is already looking for a replacement for Pomepo, “sounding out lawmakers and officials as he considers his options.”

Rogan has national security adviser Robert O’Brien as the favorite to replace Pompeo should he leave. Other possible replacements: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun, State Department envoy to Iran Brian Hook, Sen. Marco Rubio and Sen. Tom Cotton.

THE DOG THAT DIDN’T BARK: Last night’s raucous Democratic presidential debate was devoid of any mention of any of the top national security issues facing the nation. Here are some of the words that didn’t pass the lips of any of the candidates:

• Afghanistan
• Iraq
• Iran
• North Korea
• ISIS
• Syria
• Military
• Defense spending
• Terrorism (except a reference to Mexican cartels)
• NATO
• Nuclear Weapons

Russia got one mention when Bernie Sanders cited Russian interference in the 2016 election, and the discussion about China centered on climate change, not the growing military threat from Beijing.

The Rundown

Washington Examiner: Top Iranian official says his meeting with Democratic senator scared Trump

Washington Examiner: ‘It’s a mockery’: USS Pueblo veteran wants North Korea to give back his ship

Stars and Stripes: Navy Needs To Find $40 Billion In Savings To Pay For More Ships, Readiness Gaps

USNI News: Pentagon Says Shipbuilding Money Routed to Border Barrier Was Early to Need, Shipyard Disagrees

Reuters: U.S. Special Envoy Discusses Taliban Deal With Re-Elected Afghan President

AP: Pentagon Chief Visits Nuke Base To Highlight Weapon Spending

Wall Street Journal: China Expels Three Wall Street Journal Reporters

South China Morning Post: Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam – Which Defence Model Will Philippines Follow As U.S. Ties Wither?

Air Force Magazine: DOD Closing Dozens of Military Clinics to Retirees, Families

Washington Examiner: Forcing Russian vehicle off Syrian road, US military sends a strong message

Washington Post: Mike Pompeo and lawmakers spar over ‘deep state’ attacks in private Munich meeting

The National Interest: A Century of Airpower Propaganda Was Just ‘Blown Up’ by an Air Force Think Tank

Calendar

THURSDAY | FEBRUARY 20

7:30 a.m. 1700 Army Navy Dr., Arl. — National Defense Industrial Association forum on the FY 2021 Defense Department budget, with Stephen Herrera, budget deputy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management; Tom Simoes, director of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Financial Management and Comptroller’s Investment and Development Division; and Edward Gardiner, assistant deputy commandant for programs and resources at the Marine Corps. https://www.ndia.org/events

9 a.m. 2172 Rayburn -— U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission hearing “China’s Military Power Projection and U.S. National Interests,” with commissioners Larry Wortzel and Jeffrey Fiedler of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission; and Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for China Chad Sbragia. https://www.uscc.gov/hearings

11:00 a.m. 620 L St. N.W., — Daniel Morgan Graduate School discussion “Just War Reconsidered,” with retired Army Lt. Gen. James Dubik, author of Just War Reconsidered: Strategy, Ethics, and Theory. Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/just-war-reconsidered

12 p.m. 1667 K St. N.W. — Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments discussion with Maritime Administrator Rear Adm. Mark Buzby on improving the maritime industrial base, with Bryan Clark, senior fellow at CSBA and Timothy Walton, research fellow at CSBA and co-authors of “Strengthening the U.S. Defense Maritime Industrial Base.” https://csbaonline.org/about/events

6:30 p.m. 1957 E St. N.W. — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs Kuwait Chair Lecture on “current dilemmas facing U.S. policy in the Persian Gulf,” with Edward Gnehm, vice dean and Kuwait chair at GWU. http://elliott.gwu.edu

FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 21

10:00 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. N.W. — Center for Strategic and International Studies conversation with the service secretaries, with Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, and Kathleen Hicks, director, CSIS International Security Program. https://www.csis.org/events/discussion

10 a.m. 740 15th St. N.W. — New America book discussion on “The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War,” with author Fred Kaplan, national security columnist at Slate; and Peter Bergen, vice president of New America. https://www.newamerica.org/international-security/events/bomb

WEDNESDAY | FEBRUARY 26

10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley testify before the House Armed Services Committee on “The Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Budget Request from the Department of Defense.” https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

THURSDAY | FEBRUARY 27

10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “The Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Budget Request for the Department of the Navy, with acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday, and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger. https://armedservices.house.gov/hearings

WEDNESDAY | MARCH 4

9 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. — McAleese Defense Programs Conference. Register at [email protected]