| | | | | |  | | By Bryan Bender | Presented by Northrop Grumman | With Connor O'Brien Editor's Note: POLITICO Defense is a free version of POLITICO Pro Defense's morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 6 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro.
| | | — The defense policy bill could be in trouble with the clock ticking on this Congress, House Armed Services Chair Adam Smith warns. — Michèle Flournoy may have new competition for the defense secretary job as her supporters lobby Joe Biden on her behalf. — The Joint Chiefs chairman is set to lay out his priorities under a new commander in chief. IT'S MONDAY AND WELCOME BACK TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we're reminded that history can be newsworthy. Case in point: newly released Navy documents from the investigation of the 1963 loss of the USS Thresher off the coast of Boston, killing all 129 sailors aboard. It turns out the worst U.S. submarine disaster was predicted in a report by Rear Adm. William Houston, head of the undersea warfare division at Navy headquarters. "In my opinion," he wrote after initial sea trials, "the most dangerous condition that exists in Thresher is the danger of salt water flooding while at or near test depth." The failure of a salt-water piping system was blamed for the sinking. We're always on the lookout for tips, pitches and feedback. Email us at bbender@politico.com, and follow on Twitter @bryandbender, @morningdefense and @politicopro. | | | | A message from Northrop Grumman: We provide powerful, scalable networks and integrated capabilities that ensure warfighters and the systems they depend on can act as one joint force across every domain, service and mission. Learn more | | | | | | MAD DASH: The House and Senate are back in session this week as congressional leaders rush to finish their work before the end of the year. Lawmakers' face a self-imposed Dec. 11 deadline to prepare a final annual National Defense Authorization Act for a vote in both chambers to avert a government shutdown. Members are worried the standoff over provisions in the NDAA to strip the names of Confederate leaders from Army bases, which President Donald Trump has pledged to veto, threatens passage of the bill before the new Congress in January. Yet leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees are insisting that passing the $740 billion legislation in the new Congress isn't feasible for a number of political and procedural reasons. "That's not possible," House Armed Services Chair Adam Smith (D-Wash.) told our colleague Connor O'Brien in an interview. "It's a brand new Congress. The bill disappears and we'd have to go back through the process." A different sort of deal: Yet there may be more incentive now to overcome the impasse. As part of negotiations over a final NDAA, Congress and the Trump administration have secured the most sweeping reform of financial crime safeguards in decades, POLITICO's Zachary Warmbrodt reports. "The legislation, hammered out by progressive Democrats, conservative Republicans and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, would require millions of business entities to reveal their owners to the federal government in an attempt to deter the use of anonymous shell companies by criminals evading anti-money laundering rules," he writes. READINESS TOPS AGENDA: A pair of congressional hearings this week will delve into readiness problems in the Navy and Marine Corps and aviation safety. Navy readiness: On Wednesday, Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday, and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee's readiness and management support subcommittee at 9:15 a.m. Aviation safety: On Thursday, the House Armed Services' readiness subcommittee will hear testimony from retired Army Gen. Richard Cody and Richard Healing, a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board, on a new report from the National Commission on Military Aviation Safety at 1 p.m.
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Alex Edelman/AP Photo | TRAINING DAY: The National Training & Simulation Association kicks off its week-long Interservice, Industry, Training, Simulation, and Education Conference featuring Undersecretary of Defense Ellen Lord; Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Alan Shaffer; Navy acquisition chief James Geurts; Army Futures Command Chief Gen. John Murray; and SAIC CEO Nazzic Keene. ISIS UPDATE: British Maj. Gen. Kevin Copsey, deputy commander of the mission to defeat ISIS will speak at the Middle East Institute at 10:30 a.m. | | | |   | | | | | | On Tuesday, the Arms Control Association holds its annual meeting featuring Sens. Jeff Merkley and Kirsten Gillibrand and Undersecretary General of the United Nations Izumi Nakamitsu, at 12:30 p.m. Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett and Chief of Space Operations Gen. John Raymond will participate in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Space Summit at 1 p.m. And the Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas at Austin will host a discussion on the "Prospects for Civil-Military Relations During a Biden-Harris Administration," featuring retired Army Gen. Vincent Brooks; Kori Schake, director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute; and former National Security Council official Peter Feaver, director of the Program in Grand Strategy at Duke University, at 6 p.m. On Wednesday, Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will participate in "a conversation about his tenure as chairman and his priorities and goals" at the Brookings Institution at 11 a.m. Milley has come under fire this year over the issue of keeping the military out of politics in the Trump era. Milley, who became chairman last year, will continue to serve as the top military adviser to President-elect Joe Biden. On Thursday, Lord will speak at the Hudson Institute event "Competing with Great Powers at the 'Speed of Relevance'" at noon. For our full events schedule check out the Pro Calendar. | | | POPPING IN BEFORE PULLING OUT: Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller made a rare visit to Somalia over the holiday, where hundreds of U.S. troops are assisting the government in its fight against the Islamic terrorist group Al-Shabab. The three-hour visit came as Miller was wrapping up a trip to the Middle East and North Africa and just days before President Donald Trump is expected to announce he is withdrawing the estimated 700 U.S. troops in the country. But the war is likely to endure, as underscored by the death of a CIA contractor working for the agency's paramilitary unit who The New York Times reported was killed in the capital of Mogadishu by an improvised explosive device. He was identified by The Intercept as Michael Goodboe, 54, a former Navy SEAL. Goodboe is believed to be the first American killed in Somalia since the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" ambush in which 19 troops were killed. Related: 'Why now?' Dismay as U.S. considers troop pullout from Somalia, via The Associated Press. And: The next administration should bring the shadow wars into the light, via Defense One. ESCALATING TENSIONS: Iran has vowed retaliation for the assassination of one of its top nuclear scientists over the weekend in Tehran, an operation many believe was carried out by Israel, which took out a leading Al Qaeda terrorist in the Iranian capital in August. "We will respond to the assassination of Martyr Fakhrizadeh in a proper time," President Hassan Rouhani said at a televised cabinet meeting on Saturday. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also vowed in a statement "to continue the martyr's scientific and technological efforts in all the sectors where he was active." Mohsen Fakhrizadeh's killing also set off a debate in the United States about whether the assassination was wise or legal under international law. Former CIA Director John Brennan called it "a criminal act & highly reckless. It risks lethal retaliation & a new round of regional conflict." He added in a tweet: "Iranian leaders would be wise to wait for the return of responsible American leadership on the global stage & to resist the urge to respond against perceived culprits." "This is an outrageous action aimed at undermining diplomacy between an incoming US administration and Iran. It's time for this ceaseless escalation to stop," tweeted Ben Rhodes, another top adviser to former President Barack Obama. The Trump administration also stepped up its aggressive efforts to stymie the Iranian regime's pursuit of high-tech weapons, including levying sanctions on Friday against Chinese and Russian entities accused of supporting Iran's missile program, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced. Some of the back and forth over the weekend between critics and supporters of the Trump administration's more aggressive stance against Iran got a bit heated. Meanwhile, The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier is returning to the Persian Gulf as Iran makes threats, Military.com reports. However, the move was ordered before the assassination, CNN's Barbara Starr reported , to provide support as more U.S. troops withdraw from Afghanistan and Iraq in the coming weeks.
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| | | WAITING ON A PENTAGON CHIEF: Is this the week that Biden will announce his pick for secretary of defense? Some additional reporting over the weekend suggests the search may be widening, not narrowing. Axios reported that in the mix is Flournoy, long considered a leading contender to be the first woman at the helm, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, and retired Gen. Lloyd Austin. Like Johnson, Austin would also be the first Black person to hold the Cabinet post. A well-placed source confirms to Morning D that the general is a serious contender. But as a recently retired general, he would require a waiver to serve as the top civilian in the Department of Defense. And a number of close observers were stunned that Biden could seriously be considering such a move after Trump chose retired Marine Corps Gen. Jim Mattis to be his first defense secretary. Flournoy's base of support grows: Flournoy got a boost on Wednesday from a number of lawmakers and more than two-dozen nuclear disarmament advocates, including former Defense Secretary William Perry, who issued an open letter to Biden urging him to choose her, your Morning D correspondent reported. The push was seen as an effort to counter criticism on the left that Flournoy is too hawkish and cozy with defense contractors. "Michèle Flournoy is tremendously qualified and capable to serve as Secretary of Defense as we restore America's reputation in the world and enact a more progressive national security posture," tweeted Rep. Ruben Gallego, a chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. And her nomination would be "a really big deal," former Undersecretary of the Navy Janine Davidson argues in Defense One. The far left, it seems, will never get on board, however. A collection of advocacy groups issued a statement late Sunday pledging to fight a Flournoy nomination. They cited her "emphatic support for the failed and tragic military surge in Afghanistan, troops on the ground in Syria and military intervention in Libya — policies resulting in geopolitical disasters and tremendous human suffering," along with "the revolving-door aspects of Flournoy's career." They are also unlikely to think much better of Johnson, who sits on the board of Lockheed Martin, the largest Pentagon contractor, or Austin, who is a member of the board of Raytheon Technologies. If Fournoy is nominated, however, more questions are piling up about her corporate ties, including her advisory role in investment firm Pine Island Capital Partners, which The New York Times reported over the weekend has been buying up weapon system manufacturers. Related: Biden to name Neera Tanden to be White House budget chief, via The Wall Street Journal. And: The inexorable rise of Jake Sullivan, via POLITICO's Natasha Bertrand. 'SCRUTINIZING THE MASSIVE BUDGETS': Conservative and other good government groups are urging the incoming Biden administration to make it a priority to take the axe to the Pentagon budget. In a letter to Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris , they single out the Overseas Contingency Operations budget, a separate account for war spending that often includes projects not directly related to military operations. They also urge Biden's support for convincing Congress to keep the Pentagon position of chief management officer because the new administration "will need allies in the Pentagon for any spending and business reform efforts." "Though conventional wisdom holds that conservatives support increasing defense budgets from year to year, our organizations have long track records of closely scrutinizing the massive budgets and bureaucracies at the Department of Defense," they write. The letter was organized by the National Taxpayers Union and was also signed by Citizens Against Government Waste; Freedom Works; R Street Institute; Taxpayers for Common Sense; and Taxpayers Protection Alliance.
| | | — Afghan official says 34 killed in separate suicide bombings: The Associated Press — Withdrawal from Afghanistan is Trump's gift to Biden: The National Interest — Biden is Kim's to lose: War on the Rocks — Biden win means some Guantanamo prisoners may be released: The Associated Press — Pentagon purges leading advisors from Defense Policy Board: Foreign Policy — Trump pardons former national security adviser Mike Flynn: POLITICO — Retired admiral 'very concerned' about Trump loyalists at Pentagon during transition: Newsweek — Former soldier supported foreign terrorist, feds say: NJ.com — Who votes with Russia at the OPCW? Foundation for Defense of Democracies | | | | A message from Northrop Grumman: In modern missions, communication and coordination is always a challenge – and getting it right can mean the difference between mission success and failure. At Northrop Grumman, we've been taking on this challenge for decades and the result is a scalable, adaptable suite of joint all-domain command and control networks and capabilities. Our products ensure the entire joint force, from troops to weapons systems can act as one across every mission and military service. Because tomorrow's mission success depends on acting as one. Learn more about how we're enabling the joint force. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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