BIDEN’S SOTU MESSAGE: In what could be his last State of the Union address, President Joe Biden delivered a fiery, confrontational message that Republicans immediately dismissed as a highly divisive campaign speech.
Trailing former President Donald Trump by as much as 5 points in some national polls, Biden never mentioned Trump by name, instead referring to him as “my predecessor” more than a dozen times as he framed the November election as a choice between “decency, dignity, equality” and “resentment, revenge, and retribution.”
“It isn’t how old we are. It’s, how old are our ideas?” Biden said in an effort to address his advanced age. “Hate, anger, revenge, retribution are the oldest of ideas. But you can’t lead America with ancient ideas that will only take us back.”
“Not since President Lincoln and the Civil War have freedom and democracy been under assault at home as they are today. What makes our moment rare is that freedom and democracy are under attack both at home and overseas at the very same time.”
STATE OF THE UNION 2024: HOUSE REPUBLICANS BLAST BIDEN’S ‘CAMPAIGN RALLY’ AS POLITICAL THEATER
UKRAINE: ‘WE WILL NOT WALK AWAY’: Biden began his verbal assault by taking aim at Trump and his Republican backers in Congress for blocking the bipartisan appropriations bill to provide $60 billion for weapons and ammunition desperately needed by Ukraine as Russian forces are gaining ground.
“History is watching. If the United States walks away, it will put Ukraine at risk. Europe is at risk. The free world will be at risk, emboldening others to do what they wish to do us harm,” Biden said. “Assistance to Ukraine is being blocked by those who want to walk away from our world leadership. It wasn’t long ago when a Republican president named Ronald Reagan thundered, ‘Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.’ Now my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, quote, ‘Do whatever the hell you want.’”
“If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you he will not,” Biden warned. “Ukraine can stop Putin. … They’re not asking for American soldiers. In fact, there are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine, and I’m determined to keep it that way. My message to President Putin, who I’ve known for a long time, is simple: We will not walk away.”
STATE OF THE UNION 2024: BIDEN CONFRONTS GOP JEERS AND AGE CONCERNS WITH RAUCOUS SPEECH
BORDER: ‘I’M READY TO FIX IT’: Biden also attacked MAGA Republicans for killing a strong, bipartisan bill to increase security on the U.S.-Mexico border carefully negotiated by Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), one of the most conservative members of the Senate. In a cutaway shot, Lankford could be seen in the audience mouthing the words, “That’s true,” as Biden ticked off how the bill, endorsed by the conservative National Border Patrol Council, would help stem the record flow of migrants across the border.
“That bipartisan bill would hire 1,500 more security agents and officers, 100 more immigration judges to help tackle the backlog of 2 million cases, 4,300 more asylum officers, and new policies so they can resolve cases in six months instead of six years now,” Biden said. “This bill would save lives and bring order to the border and also give me and any new president new emergency authority to temporarily shut down the border when the number of migrants at the border is overwhelming.”
“Look, folks, we have a simple choice. We can fight about fixing the border, or we can fix it,” Biden said. “I’m ready to fix it. Send me the border bill now!”
In a response posted on YouTube, Lankford called Biden’s address the “most divisive speech I’ve ever heard during a State of the Union” and said his border remarks had a glaring omission.
“He listed off some things from the border security bill and some different facts and figures from it. Those facts were true, but what the president conveniently left out were the authorities that he has right now that he’s choosing not to use,” Lankford said. “The president kept saying, ‘I need more money and I need more authorities for these things.’ Well, let me give you for instance — he’s created two new parole authorities no president has ever done before that actually cost money. He could turn those off, and if he turned those off today, thousands fewer of people would cross the border tomorrow.”
STATE OF THE UNION 2024: BIDEN BLAMES REPUBLICANS FOR INACTION ON BORDER CRISIS
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HISTORIC HAPPENING: Biden’s State of the Union address fell on a particularly historic day as Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson deposited his country’s “instrument of accession” to the North Atlantic Treaty with the United States, which is repository for the treaty, thus becoming the 32nd member of the alliance formed in 1949 with 12 original founding nations.
“America is a founding member of NATO, the military alliance of democratic nations created after World War II prevent — to prevent war and keep the peace, and today we’ve made NATO stronger than ever. We welcomed Finland to the alliance last year, and just this morning, Sweden officially joined, and their minister is here tonight,” Biden said. “And they know how to fight.”
“Mr. Prime Minister, welcome to NATO, the strongest military alliance the world has ever seen,” Biden said as he asked Kristersson to stand up and be recognized.
“Thank you all allies for welcoming us as the 32nd member,” Kristersson posted on X after his meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the State Department. “We will strive for unity, solidarity and burden-sharing, and will fully adhere to the Washington Treaty values: freedom, democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law. Stronger together.”
On Monday, at 5 a.m. Eastern time, a flag-raising ceremony occurred at NATO Headquarters in Brussels to mark the addition of Sweden to the trans-Atlantic alliance. “Sweden’s accession makes NATO stronger, Sweden safer and the whole alliance more secure,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement. “Today’s accession demonstrates that NATO’s door remains open and that every nation has the right to choose its own path.”
FEARING THE US IS BECOMING AN INCREASINGLY UNRELIABLE ALLY, EUROPE CHARTS ITS OWN COURSE
GAZA: ISRAEL HAS A ‘FUNDAMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY’ TO PROTECT INNOCENT CIVILIANS: Biden’s arrival at the U.S. Capitol last night was delayed almost 30 minutes by protesters who blocked Pennsylvania Avenue and other roads around the Capitol, calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. A small group of demonstrators, who wore black T-shirts that read “Biden’s legacy equals genocide,” locked arms to block traffic briefly.
In his more than hourlong speech, Biden attempted to express support for both Israel and Palestinian people who are suffering a humanitarian disaster. “Israel has the right to go after Hamas,” Biden said. “But Israel has an added burden because Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population like cowards.”
In a speech that was short on specific policy proposals, Biden made one major announcement: plans for the U.S. military to help build a temporary pier on the coast of Gaza to facilitate the flow of “large shipments carrying food, water, medicine, and temporary shelters.”
“No U.S. boots will be on the ground,” Biden insisted. “A temporary pier will enable a massive increase in the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza every day.”
“Israel must do its part. Israel must allow more aid into Gaza to ensure humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the crossfire,” Biden said. “To the leadership of Israel, I say this: Humanitarian assistance cannot be a secondary consideration or a bargaining chip. Protecting and saving innocent lives has to be a priority. As we look to the future, the only real solution to the situation is a two-state solution over time.”
BIDEN TO DIRECT MILITARY TO BUILD PORT IN MEDITERRANEAN FOR SURGE OF GAZA AID
THE IRAN-HOUTHI AXIS: Biden devoted only two sentences in his marathon speech to the shooting war that U.S. forces are involved in with Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, which in recent days sunk one commercial shipping vessel in the Red Sea and killed and wounded civilian mariners in another attack.
“I’ve ordered strikes to degrade the Houthi capability and defend U.S. forces in the region. As commander in chief, I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and our military personnel,” Biden said. “Creating stability in the Middle East also means containing the threat posed by Iran. That’s why I built a coalition of more than a dozen countries to defend international shipping and freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.”
Earlier in the day, the head of the U.S. Central Command told Congress that Iran is “undeterred” in its support of the Houthis. “Our campaign in the Red Sea is to restore freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, Bab al Mandab, and the Gulf of Aden. It focuses on protecting the ships that are there,” Gen. Michael “Eric” Kurilla testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “We also want to degrade the Houthis’ offensive capability, anti-ship ballistic missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles, and the myriad of other systems that they are using, all provided by Iran. But to degrade that capability means nothing if Iran is able to resupply them.”
“Iranians have been supplying the Houthis, resupplying them. They are advising them, and they are providing them target information,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) said in his questioning of Kurilla. “Why are we not sinking those Iranian ships?”
“I provide options ranging everything from cyber to kinetic. And I also identify the risk of escalation and all of those options,” Kurilla said. “I think it’s best if, in a closed session, I can talk you through the intelligence of what we know Iran is providing and the implications and what we can do about that.”
Kurilla painted a grim picture of how the security situation in his area of responsibility has changed for the worse since he took over the U.S. Central Command.
“Just a year ago, the region was on the verge of improbable, unprecedented, and transformative progress. Today, the central region faces its most volatile security situation in the past half-century. This is not the same central region as last year,” Kurilla testified. “The events of 7 October not only permanently changed Israel and Gaza, it created the conditions for malign actors to sow instability throughout the region and beyond. Iran exploited what they saw as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape the Middle East to their advantage.”
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THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: State of the Union 2024: Biden makes second-longest speech of his term
Washington Examiner: State of the Union 2024: Biden confronts GOP jeers and age concerns with raucous speech
Washington Examiner: State of the Union 2024: House Republicans blast Biden’s ‘campaign rally’ as political theater
Washington Examiner: State of the Union 2024: Biden blames Republicans for inaction on border crisis
Washington Examiner: ‘Disaster’: Trump ‘corrects’ Biden speech in contentious rebuttal
Washington Examiner: State of the Union 2024: Biden urges Israel to make ‘saving innocent lives’ a ‘priority’ as aid tensions explode
Washington Examiner: Biden to direct military to build port in Mediterranean for surge of Gaza aid
Washington Examiner: State of the Union 2024: ‘Squad’ members hold up signs calling for ‘lasting ceasefire’ in Gaza
Washington Examiner: State of the Union 2024: Progressive response slams Biden for ‘endangering coalition’ that elected him
Washington Examiner: State of the Union 2024: Biden goes off script to say ‘Lincoln’ Riley murdered by ‘an illegal’ after MTG taunt
Washington Examiner: State of the Union 2024: Gold Star father arrested for heckling Biden speech
Washington Examiner: Fearing the US is becoming an increasingly unreliable ally, Europe charts its own course
Washington Post: Navy demoted Ronny Jackson after probe into behavior as White House physician
Washington Post: Why National Guard troops are being deployed in New York’s subways
Washington Post: Democrats probe Musk’s SpaceX, examining Russia’s alleged Starlink use
AP: Sweden Officially Joins NATO, Ending Decades of Post-World War II Neutrality
New York Times: Mutual Frustrations Arise In U.S.-Ukraine Alliance
Wall Street Journal: Hamas Leaves Negotiations On Cease-Fire
Defense News: A Nearly $1 Trillion Defense Budget Faces Headwinds at Home and Abroad
Breaking Defense: Space Force Vice Chief Says Failure on Continuing Resolution Could Cost Service up to $3.9B
Breaking Defense: Sen. Sullivan Says CNO ‘Assured’ Him New Shipbuilding Plan Will Have 31 Amphibs
Bloomberg: Xi Urges Coordination Of Military, Economic Strategy At Sea
CBS: Army Intelligence Analyst Charged with Selling Military Secrets to Contact in China for $42,000
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Acquisition Boss: Spending Caps Forced USAF to Trim 2025 Budget Request
Air & Space Forces Magazine: CENTCOM Boss Presses Lawmakers for Counter-Drone Funds That ‘Will Save Lives’
Inside Defense: US, Japan Finalizing Co-Development Agreement for Hypersonic-Killing Missile Interceptor
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Allvin: CCA Will Redefine How USAF Counts Its Fighters
The War Zone: First Block 70 F-16s Are Out for Delivery
Defense One: Targeting Time Shrinks from Minutes to Seconds in Army Experiment
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Maryland Guard to Trade A-10s for Cyber, and Hope for Future Flying Mission
Military.com: They Stood Sentry over America’s Nuclear Missile Arsenal. Many Worry It Gave Them Cancer.
Military.com: A Nurse with an Amputation Hopes to Join the Air Force. A New Bill Could Allow Her to Do So.
War on the Rocks: Drones, The air littoral, and the looming irrelevance of the U.S. Air Force
THE CALENDAR:
FRIDAY | MARCH 8
8:30 a.m. 11493 Sunset Hills Rd., Reston, Virginia — Government Executive Media Group Power Breakfast discussion: “Doing Business with the Navy,” Capt. Jesse Black, commanding officer of the Naval Research Lab https://events.washingtontechnology.com/power-breakfast
9 a.m. — McCain Institute inaugural observance of Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day, with discussion with returned hostages, detainees, and family members https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hostage-wrongful-detainee-day
9:15 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “Taking On the China Challenge,” with Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) https://www.hudson.org/events/taking-china-challenge-congressman-kevin-hern
9:45 a.m. House Triangle, U.S. Capitol — House Republicans news conference to call on the State Department to keep Cuba on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list, with Reps. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY); Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL); Carlos Gimenez (R-FL); and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) [email protected]
MONDAY | MARCH 11
2:30 p.m. 216 Hart — Senate Intelligence Committee hearing: “Annual Worldwide Threats Assessment,” with testimony from Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines; CIA Director William Burns; FBI Director Christopher Wray; Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Brett Holmgren; National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy Haugh; and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/hearings/open-hearing-worldwide-threats-4
TUESDAY | MARCH 12
9:30 a.m. 216 Hart — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: “Global Security Challenges and U.S. Strategy,” with testimony from Paul Scharre, executive vice president and director of studies at the Center for a New American Security, and Hal Brands, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and professor of global affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/hearings
10 a.m. 390 Cannon — House Intelligence Committee hearing: “2024 Annual Threat Assessment,” with testimony from Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines; CIA Director William Burns; FBI Director Christopher Wray; Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research Brett Holmgren; National Security Agency Director Gen. Timothy Haugh; and Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse http://intelligence.house.gov
10 a.m. 2128 Rayburn — House Financial Services Committee hearing: “Mission Critical: Restoring National Security as the Focus of Defense Production Act Reauthorization” https://financialservices.house.gov
10:15 a.m. 608 Dirksen — Senate Budget Committee hearing: “The President’s FY2025 Budget Proposal,” with testimony from Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young https://www.budget.senate.gov/hearings
2 p.m. 2172 Rayburn — House Foreign Affairs Europe Subcommittee hearing: “Going Nuclear on Rosatom: Ending Global Dependence on Putin’s Nuclear Energy Sector,” with testimony from David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security; Anthony Ruggiero, senior director and senior fellow in the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’s Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program; and Theresa Sabonis-Helf, concentration chairwoman for science, technology, and international affairs in Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service http://foreignaffairs.house.gov
WEDNESDAY | MARCH 13
7:15 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Virginia — Association of the U.S. Army “Coffee Series,” with Gen. Charles Hamilton, commanding general of U.S. Army Materiel Command https://www.ausa.org/events/coffee-serie/gen-hamilton
THURSDAY | MARCH 14
10:30 a.m. 419 Dirksen — Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing: “U.S. Strategy in the Pacific Island Region,” with testimony from Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Ely Ratner, assistant defense secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs http://foreign.senate.gov
MONDAY | MARCH 18
7:15 a.m. — Association of the U.S. Army “Coffee Series,” with Army budget leaders Kirsten Taylor, deputy assistant Army secretary for plans, programs, and resources; Maj. Gen. Mark Bennett, director of the Army budget; and Maj. Gen. Joseph Hilbert, director of force development in the office of the deputy Army chief of staff for resources and plans https://www.ausa.org/events/coffee-series/mg-bennett
TUESDAY | MARCH 19
1 p.m. 2172 Rayburn — House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing: “A ‘Strategic Failure’: Biden’s Withdrawal, America’s Generals, and the Taliban Takeover,” with testimony from retired Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, former commander of the U.S. Central Command, and retired Gen. Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff http://foreignaffairs.house.gov
WEDNESDAY | MARCH 20
10 a.m. — Counter Extremism Project webinar: “Cruel And Unusual Punishment — How The Houthis Target Women, Journalists And Religious Minorities,” with Edmund Fitton-Brown, CEP senior adviser; Nura al Jarwi, president, Association for the Protection of Violated Women and Survivors of Houthi Prisons; and Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director, CEP Counter Extremism Project https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register
