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SPENDING DROP COMING: President Trump was in a triumphant mood on Monday when he signed the $717 billion National Defense Authorization Act in front of a crowd of cheering soldiers in Fort Drum, N.Y. “We are the most powerful. We are the best funded. We are the biggest, we are the strongest, [and] we are the smartest,” the president said. But a new assessment by the Congressional Budget Office is tossing a bucket of cold water on Trump’s budget victory. After two years of spending hikes, the much-maligned Budget Control Act caps are set to snap back into place next year and could force a $71 billion reduction in total defense spending. The cap for the Defense Department will fall from $647 billion in fiscal 2019 to $576 billion, the CBO said. The Pentagon’s fiscal 2019 budget set by the NDAA is $639 billion, though no final defense appropriations bill has been passed yet. Some defense spending happens outside the Pentagon and the caps do not cover overseas contingency operations, which will run about $69 billion. It’s a good bet that the military was already used to the idea that another big boost in funding is not in the cards after defense hawks such as Sen. John McCain and Rep. Mac Thornberry pushed through buildup-size budgets for fiscal years 2018 and 2019. But the roughly 11 percent cut could put pressure on Pentagon budget priorities such as the Space Force, which it will ask Congress to authorize next year. The spending caps were set by the Budget Control Act of 2011. But Congress has managed to pass a series of deals to raise them each year since. BACK TO THIS YEAR’S BUDGET: It may be too early for Congress to seriously consider any budget cliff looming next year with this year’s fiscal 2019 defense appropriations bill still hanging in the balance. But the Senate is set to finally move on the legislation by starting floor debate today. Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn told the Washington Examiner Wednesday that he expects a vote on defense spending next week. The Senate Appropriations Committee passed the defense legislation, which includes $675 billion for the Pentagon, in June but it got held up through July due to political wrangling. The chamber’s plan is to bring the appropriations bill to the floor as early as today as part of a “minibus,” a smaller version of the omnibus spending bills Trump hates. It will be wrapped together with funding for the departments of labor, health and human services, and education. The full House passed its version in June. Both chambers will still have to call a conference committee to negotiate a final bill and bring it back for final House and Senate passage. WHITE HOUSE PROTESTS LCS ADDS: The White House’s Office of Management and Budget, run by fiscal hawk Mick Mulvaney, weighed in on the Senate appropriations bill Wednesday, saying it strongly opposes the purchase of a second littoral combat ship for the Navy. “One LCS in FY 2019, when combined with the three funded in FY 2018, would keep both shipyards supplied with enough work to remain viable for the frigate competition. It is imperative that, based on lessons learned from the LCS program, a more capable and survivable ship is developed to meet the Navy’s needs, consistent with [national defense strategy] priorities,” OMB said. The statement comes just days after Trump touted the inclusion of three LCS hulls in the NDAA. The statement also objected to proposed cuts to the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund and to the Counter ISIS Train and Equip Fund. NDAA WON’T REALLY BLOCK F-35s TO TURKEY: Trump and Congress sent a message to Turkey this week by suspending deliveries of F-35 joint strike fighter jets to the NATO ally. But the legislation in the NDAA is unlikely to have any real impact on the deliveries. The suspension could last just three months and Turkey is not expected to take delivery of its next F-35 until 2019, according to Joe DellaVedova, spokesman for the Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office, and two other sources close to the program. Congress set a 90-day deadline for Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to submit a comprehensive report on Turkey relations and weapons sales. Once the report is submitted to lawmakers, the deliveries of the high-tech Lockheed Martin fighters to Turkey are expected to resume, according to the House and Senate armed services committees. “The F-35 JPO, in conjunction with all F-35 partners, will continue to execution current program plans and will abide by any future policy directions as required,” DellaVedova said. TWO AIRCRAFT AT LUKE: Turkey took ceremonial delivery of two F-35 fighters in June. The aircraft were sent to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona where the U.S. is teaching Turkish pilots and crews to maintain and fly the advanced fighters as part of a routine partner nation training program that can last one to two years. The NDAA suspension will not disrupt that training and those F-35s will eventually be sent to Turkey once it is completed. “The training of Turkish F-35 personnel at Luke Air Force Base will continue until the NDAA-required secretary of defense F-35 report has been submitted to Congress for their decision on the way forward,” Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Andrews said. Good Thursday 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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BOEING TO UPGRADE PENCE JET: One of the four Boeing jetliners frequently used by the vice president and the secretary of state — and sometimes for Trump’s weekend trips — is getting a $16 million overhaul that will make its interior more like that of the larger aircraft popularly known as Air Force One. Boeing was awarded the contract this month. It covers upgrading and refurbishing interior elements of one of the twin-engine Boeing 757s as well as painting and cleaning to create an “appearance more commensurate with [the] presidential section of the VC-25A,” the military designation for the Boeing 747 jumbo jet flown by the president, the Pentagon said. REED ASSAILS TRUMP’S NDAA STATEMENT: After signing the 2019 NDAA into law at Fort Drum on Monday, Trump issued a lengthy signing statement saying he reserves the right to disregard a raft of its foreign policy provisions. Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, says not so fast, especially on NDAA provisions regarding Russia. “While previous Administrations have issued signing statements, the sweeping breadth and scope of the President’s caveats to the NDAA are unprecedented and disturbing. It reflects an overly expansive view of the President’s executive powers at the expense of Congress’s role as a co-equal branch of government,” Reed said in a statement. Trump objected to provisions in the NDAA blocking any recognition of Russia’s claims to Crimea and an extended prohibition on military-to-military cooperation, as well as dozens of others. “The President’s claims regarding his authority to set foreign policy unilaterally threaten to undermine key security relationships in Europe, the Indo-Pacific region, and elsewhere,” Reed said. The Rhode Island Democrat also mentioned Sen. John McCain as the namesake of the bill, something Trump conspicuously omitted from his NDAA signing ceremony speech at Fort Drum. RUSSIA AND MURDERED JOURNALISTS: Two senators want an international probe into the deaths of three journalists murdered in the Central African Republic, raising a call that casts suspicion on the role of the Russian government in the killings. “They were reportedly in the country investigating the activities of Wagner, a private Russian mercenary group that has been deployed in Syria and Ukraine and that is reported to be linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a catering magnate close to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin,” Sens. Marco Rubio and Chris Coons said Wednesday. The Wagner Group is the same mercenary force that reportedly staged an unsuccessful assault on an American-held camp in Syria, sustaining hundreds of casualties in the process. Orkhan Dzhemal, Kirill Radchenko and Alexander Rastorguyev were ambushed on assignment in late July, although the driver of their car survived. “According to the preliminary data of law enforcement agencies, the Russian citizens were attacked by unknown people for the purpose of robbery,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said after the attack. NEW NORTH KOREA SANCTIONS: The Treasury Department announced new sanctions Wednesday against three organizations based in China, Singapore and Russia, part of the Trump administration’s newest effort to put pressure on North Korea. China-based Dalian Sun Moon Star International Logistics Trading Co. and its Singapore-based affiliate, SINSMS Pte. Ltd., are accused of using falsified shipping documents to export products to North Korea. Russian-based Profinet Ltd. is accused of providing fuel services to North Korean shipping vessels. “The tactics that these entities based in China, Singapore and Russia are using to attempt to evade sanctions are prohibited under U.S. law, and all facets of the shipping industry have a responsibility to abide by them or expose themselves to serious risks,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said. The new sanctions effectively block any and all assets these entities have within the jurisdiction of the U.S. and explicitly bars Americans from doing business with them. RUSSIAN RESPONSE: “Russia is working on retaliatory measures against the United States after it imposed sanctions on a Russian company for aiding North Korea, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency on Thursday,” Reuters reported. AFGHAN COMPOUND UNDER SIEGE: The AP is reporting this morning that gunmen are besieging an Afghan intelligence service compound in Kabul. Also this morning, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide blast that killed 34 in Kabul, AP reported. McMAHON TO REPLACE McMAHON? The White House announcement last night looked a little weird. “Robert H. McMahon, of Georgia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense, vice Robert H. McMahon, resigned.” As it turns out, McMahon, who is assistant secretary for logistics and materiel readiness, is being nominated to become the Pentagon’s assistant secretary for sustainment. PENTAGON RETALIATION? The Pentagon press shop has been cutting off access to reporters and news organizations to punish them for unfavorable news stories, Politico reports this morning. “[I]n recent weeks, several reporters said that they increasingly feel as though individual journalists are being retaliated against for stories they’ve written, losing yet more access. In one case this spring, officials pulled away a reporter’s plum opportunity to embed with U.S. troops overseas following a story they found too critical. “Another example involved the military-news outlet Defense One, which was left out of a media roundtable with the deputy secretary of defense earlier this month to help roll out President Donald Trump’s proposed Space Force. The slight came after a Defense One reporter got an early scoop on plans to set up the new branch, breaking the story before the Pentagon was ready for it to go public,” Politico reported. CLEARANCE REVOKED: Weeks after announcing a review, Trump has revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan, a vocal critic of the president, claiming his “erratic behavior” should disqualify him from having access to sensitive information. Brennan fired back Wednesday saying Trump’s decision to revoke his security clearance is part of a broader effort by the administration to silence political adversaries. “This action is part of a broader effort by Mr. Trump to suppress freedom of speech & punish critics. It should gravely worry all Americans, including intelligence professionals, about the cost of speaking out. My principles are worth far more than clearances. I will not relent,” Brennan tweeted. OTHERS REMAIN DEFIANT: The former CIA director is among the most visible Trump critics among former officials. But the security clearances of others might also be in the crosshairs. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders disclosed that the White House is weighing revoking the security clearances of others as well, including former NSA and CIA Director Michael Hayden, fired FBI Director James Comey, former national security adviser Susan Rice, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and others. Some of those former officials pushed back at the White House, saying they will not be silenced. “The way that Sarah Huckabee Sanders rolled this out was almost in a tone to be threatening to the rest of us,” Hayden told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “In other words, it looks to me like an attempt to make us change the things we are saying when we’re asked questions on CNN or other networks, and frankly, for those of us who appear routinely on air, it’s not going to have that effect.” Clapper called the clearance revocation an unprecedented move to chill free speech. “I don’t plan to stop speaking about, when I’m asked, my views on this administration,” he told CNN. WWII DISCOVERY: A team of scientists and underwater explorers backed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has found the stern section of a World War II destroyer near Kiska Island in the remote Bering Sea off Alaska. The 11-person team from Project Recover, along with four active-duty U.S. sailors, found the wreckage in July while surveying the underwater battlefield site. A Japanese mine tore off a section of the USS Abner Read’s stern in 1943, and 71 sailors died. Click here for photos and video. |
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THE RUNDOWN Wall Street Journal: Trump, Seeking to Relax Rules on U.S. Cyberattacks, Reverses Obama Directive Air Force Times: GAO raps Pentagon, services for not properly tracking aviation mishap data New York Times: The Afghan Army’s Last Stand at Chinese Camp Daily Beast: War Correspondent: The Last Time I Was Called ‘an Enemy of the People’ DoD Buzz: Boeing Gets Contract to Upgrade Navy’s Blue Angels to Super Hornets Bloomberg: Merkel Enters Fray to Calm Turkey Turmoil as German Stakes Rise AFP: Qatar’s emir visits crisis-hit Turkey in show of support Defense News: US Senate’s top Republican likens Russia to ‘old Soviet Union’ Business Insider: Mattis gave a blunt warning against generals becoming politicians, and in neighboring country where this is happening Army Times: US Army’s future missile defense battle manager put to test in multidomain operations Breaking Defense: New Tests Prove IBCS Missile Defense Network DOES Work: Northrop Defense One: Talking to the Taliban While Still Fighting the Taliban Politico: Whatever happened to Al Qaeda in Afghanistan? CNN: Iraqi refugee accused of being ISIS killer arrested in California Task and Purpose: The State Department Is Already Concerned About Weaponized Russian Satellites |
CalendarFRIDAY | AUG. 17 12 noon. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Iraq: Political Parties, Protests, and Security. hudson.org TUESDAY | AUG. 21 7 a.m. 801 Mt. Vernon Pl. NW. Army Science and Technology Symposium and Showcase. ndia.org 9:30 a.m. Dirksen G-50. Committee Hearing on Nominations: Alan Shaffer to be Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment; Veronica Daigle to be Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness and Force Management; Casey Wardynski to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs; and Alex Beehler, to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Energy, Installations, and Environment. armed-services.senate.gov 10 a.m. Dirksen 419. Full Committee Hearing U.S.- Russia Relations. foreign.senate.gov WEDNESDAY | AUG. 22 10 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Reimagining the U.S.-South Korea Alliance. brookings.edu 10 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. US-Turkey Relations in Crisis: Where Are We Headed? wilsoncenter.org 4 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. The Challenge of Cyber Strategy with Lt. Gen. Loretta Reynolds, Deputy Commandant for Information at Marine Corps Forces Cyber Command, and Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, Deputy Commander of U.S. Cyber Command. atlanticcouncil.org THURSDAY | AUG. 23 2 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Afghanistan: 17 Years On. hudson.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 |
