Defense tops Hill agenda this week — Space Command move under review — Can Biden keep the Middle East on the backburner?

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Feb 22, 2021 View in browser   By Bryan Bender Presented by With Connor O'Brien Editor's Note: Morning 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. Quick Fix — Senate and House defense panels hold hearings this week on emerging technologies and Pentagon spending. — The Pentagon's internal watchog is investigating whether the decision to relocate U.S. Space Command was political payback. — President Joe Biden is trying to move on from Middle East quagmires, but reality may stymie his plans to focus elsewhere. HAPPY MONDAY AND WELCOME BACK TO MORNING DEFENSE , where 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.   On the Hill THE REED ERA BEGINS: The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold its first hearings this week with Jack Reed as chair. Reed, who laid out his priorities in an interview with POLITICO last week, took over the panel this month as Democrats gained control of committees in the evenly divided Senate. On Tuesday, SASC convenes a hearing on the impact of emerging technologies on national security. The committee will hear from former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Microsoft President Brad Smith and retired Gen. Hawk Carlisle, who now leads the National Defense Industrial Association. On Thursday, the committee holds a hearing on the Pentagon's role in the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic. Senators will hear from several Pentagon officials, including Gen. Gus Perna, the top military official overseeing the effort to quickly develop and distribute a vaccine. Several other national security-related hearings are on tap this week: On Tuesday, the House Armed Services Cyber Subcommittee holds a hearing on maintaining the military's technological edge, while the Strategic Forces panel hears from experts on Chinese and Russian advances in space and nuclear weapons. On Wednesday, the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee holds a hearing on future defense spending, the first for new Chair Betty McCollum (D-Minn.). Also on Wednesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a nomination hearing for Ambassador William Burns to be CIA director. BUDGET NOMINEE IN TROUBLE: Moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia will oppose Neera Tanden, Biden's pick to lead the White House Office of Management and Budget, imperiling her already contentious nomination, POLITICO's Marianne LeVine and Caitlin Emma report. Without Manchin's vote, Tanden will need at least one Repubican to back her in order to win approval in the 50-50 Senate. Jockeying begins: Though the White House is signaling it's not ready to abandon Tanden's nomination, behind-the-scenes jockeying has begun for potential fallback picks, POLITICO's Tyler Pager reports. Two early contenders are Gene Sperling, former director of the National Economic Council, and Ann O'Leary, who was most recently California Gov. Gavin Newsom's chief of staff. Also in the mix is Shalanda Young, a former staff director for the House Appropriations Committee who has been nominated to be deputy OMB director. PROBING THE CAPITOL RIOT: A series of hearings this week will also dig into the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and its roots. On Tuesday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will hear from leaders of the D.C. and U.S. Capitol police, as well as the sergeants-at-arms of the House and Senate. On Wednesday, the House Judiciary Committee will hear from experts on the rise of domestic terrorism. And on Thursday, the House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing titled "Dollars Against Democracy: Domestic Terrorist Financing in the Aftermath of the Insurrection." Related: The Army doesn't know how many extremists it has booted, via The Army Times. And: A small group of militants' outsize role in the Capitol attack, via The New York Times. STIMULUS SHOWDOWN: The House Budget Committee meets at 1 p.m. to mark up a $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus package. Votes are expected on the House floor on the legislation this week as lawmakers race to deliver more economic relief to Biden's desk in the coming weeks. The draft legislation released Friday doesn't include an extension of a program that allows federal agencies to reimburse contractors who pay employees even if the federal facilities they need to access to do their jobs are closed because of the pandemic. The program, created by Section 3610 of the CARES Act, has been extended several times and is set to expire on March 31. Defense contractors and industry groups have pushed lawmakers to extend the program and provide billions in extra Pentagon funding to cover the costs of the reimbursements for its contractor base. Read up: Stimulus bill text   NEW - "THE RECAST" NEWSLETTER: Power dynamics are changing. "Influence" is changing. More people are demanding a seat at the table, insisting that all politics is personal and not all policy is equitable. "The Recast" is our new twice-weekly newsletter that breaks down how race and identity are recasting politics, policy and power in America. And POLITICO is recasting how we report on this crucial intersection, bringing you fresh insights, scoops, dispatches from across the country and new voices that challenge "business as usual." Don't miss out on this important new newsletter, SUBSCRIBE NOW. Thank you to our sponsor, Intel.     Happening Today MIDEAST LEADERS CONVENE: The Brookings Institution convenes a weeklong conference on the Biden administration and the Middle East, featuring King Abdullah II of Jordan, Iraqi President Barham Salih, and a host of other top ministers and diplomats from across the region. Happening This Week AEROSPACE LEADERS GATHER: The Air Force Association's Virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium takes place Wednesday through Friday. It includes a keynote from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown on Wednesday and a fireside chat with Gen. Jay Raymond, chief of space operations, and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson on Thursday. Friday features acting Air Force Secretary John Roth; Air Force Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and two nuclear commanders. Check out the full agenda. On Tuesday, the Nuclear Threat Initiative holds a discussion with Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, at 10 a.m. The Reagan Institute hosts a conversation on America's role in the world with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) at 1 p.m. And the Center for Strategic and International Studies hears from Hyten on missile defense at 3 p.m. On Friday, the Washington Post's David Ignatius interviews former Defense Secretary Robert Gates at 2 p.m. For a full schedule of events check out the Pro calendar.     Pentagon SPACE COMMAND REVIEW: The Defense Department inspector general has opened an investigation into the 11th-hour decision by the Trump administration to relocate the headquarters of the U.S. Space Command from Colorado to Alabama, our colleague Jacqueline Feldscher reports. The IG will evaluate whether the Air Force "complied with DoD and Air Force policies during the location selection process; used objective and relevant scoring factors to rank the six candidate locations; and calculated the cost and other scoring factors accurately and consistently among the six candidate locations," according to a memorandum issued Friday. Colorado lawmakers, who have said they suspect politics played a role in the decision, welcomed the probe. "I will continue working to ensure that this decision was made with neither political bias nor arbitrary and inappropriate metrics which will ultimately materially damage our national security," said Republican Rep. Doug Lamborn. White House ON THE BACK BURNER: One month into his presidency, Biden has made it clear that when it comes to foreign policy, the Middle East is not high on his list of priorities, POLITICO's Natasha Bertrand and Lara Seligman report. "The president has made only one call to a head of state in the Middle East — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday — which itself was delayed by more than three weeks and followed calls to other allies and even adversaries like Russia and China," they write. "He announced an end to U.S. support for Saudi-led operations in Yemen in his first two weeks in office, a move preceded by a freeze on some arms sales to the region. And his administration has deliberately taken a backseat in responding to a recent deadly rocket attack in northern Iraq that targeted the U.S.-led coalition." "If you are going to list the regions Biden sees as a priority, the Middle East is not in the top three," said a former senior national security official and close Biden adviser. "It's Asia-Pacific, then Europe, and then the Western Hemisphere. And that reflects a bipartisan consensus that the issues demanding our attention have changed as great power competition [with China and Russia] is resurgent." Another informal Biden adviser put it more bluntly: "They are just being extremely purposeful to not get dragged into the Middle East." Biden's predecessors tried it, too, but as we all know, the region has a way of putting itself back on the front burner. Related: Biden renews defense pledge to Europe but warns of democratic 'inflection point,' via Roll Call. And: Europe applauds Biden's approach, stresses cooperation, via The Associated Press. Plus: America's Middle East policy is outdated and dangerously so, by Sen. Chris Murphy, via Foreign Affairs.   JOIN US TUESDAY TO MEET THE FRESHMEN: The freshman class of the 117th Congress took office just three days before an armed mob stormed Capitol Hill and in the middle of a once per century pandemic, making its first month in office just a bit different from any previous class. Join POLITICO for "Red, Fresh and Blue," featuring live interviews with newly elected members of Congress from both sides of the aisle. Huddle newsletter author Olivia Beavers will moderate back-to-back live interviews with Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) and Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux (D-Ga.). REGISTER HERE.     Policy Roundup PEACE PITCH: Mwatana for Human Rights and The Campaign Against Arms Trade have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for their work defending human rights in Yemen and successfully halting the transfer of British arms to Saudi Arabia that were allegedly used to inflict civilian casualties in the civil war. "The timing of this nomination is intended to draw attention to the Judicial Review being conducted in the UK about arms trading in Saudi Arabia, to support protests in the U.S. about renewed arms sales to the UAE, and to highlight the misery and suffering of the Yemeni people in the proxy war being conducted in their country," according to a nominating letter from the American Friends Service Committee and Quaker Peace & Social Witness, both Quaker organizations. "The pairing of the two organizations is intended to hold up collaborations between local organizations and activism with initiatives by civil society to engage policy and law making through legal and diplomatic channels." The American Friends Service Committee has been making nominations for the award since 1947. Making Moves Ambassador Marshall Billingslea, most recently President Donald Trump's chief arms control negotiator, is joining the Hudson Institute.   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.   Speed Read — Officials say rockets strike Iraqi air base, one injured: The Associated Press — 2 pilots, one U.S., one Japanese, killed in training flight crash in Alabama: Military Times — USAF launches new review of racial, gender, ethnic disparities: Air Force Magazine — Austin vows stronger action against sexual assault in the military: The Washington Post — How a viral video could force a cultural reckoning in the Marine Corps: via Task & Purpose — Austin tells NATO 'there will be no surprises' on Afghan withdrawal: POLITICO Pro — Russia steps in trying to aid stalled Afghan peace process: The Associated Press — How to bargain with the Taliban: War on the Rocks — First Covid-era defense show kicks off in UAE: Breaking Defense — Croatia has shown interest in F-35 jets, Lockheed executive says: Reuters — Saudi Arabia to invest more than $20 billion in its military industry over next decade: Reuters — Aerial attacks on Saudi Arabia expose vulnerability of U.S. ally: The Wall Street Journal — Erik Prince, Trump ally, violated Libya arms embargo, U.N. report says: The New York Times — Documents shed light on plan to buy U.S. helicopter gunships for assault on Tripoli: The Washington Post — What Assad's chemical weapons really accomplished: The Washington Post — U.N. nuclear chief in Iran as it threatens watchdog's cameras: The Associated Press — Biden can't negotiate with Iran as its proxies attack U.S. troops: The Washington Post — Does Mahmoud Ahmadinejad want to be president of Iran again? The Economist — Google fires AI ethics co-lead for questioning the company's ethics: Observer — Antitrust regulators extend review of Lockheed's proposed purchase of Aerojet Rocketdyne: Defense One — LISTEN: Dennis Muilenburg's bet on the future: Aviation Week — The U.S. needs a federal department of science and technology: Scientific American — These are the women who crushed the caliphate: CNN — How 3 women broke into the uber-macho world of war reporting: ForeignPolicy   Follow us on Twitter Dave Brown @dave_brown24 Bryan Bender @bryandbender Connor O'Brien @connorobriennh Jacqueline Feldscher @jacqklimas Lara Seligman @laraseligman   Follow us

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