| | | | |  | | By Eric Bazail-Eimil and Robbie Gramer | |  Former Israeli hostages and the family members of those still in Gaza are in Washington this week delivering a stark message for policymakers: the hostages might not be able to survive until Donald Trump takes office. | JDA Worldwide | With help from John Sakellariadis, Maggie Miller, Nahal Toosi and Daniel Lippman Subscribe here | Email Robbie | Email Eric The Biden administration is racing against the clock to secure a deal to release remaining Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity before it leaves office — and they believe the fall of Syrian leader BASHAR AL-ASSAD ups the ante to get Hamas back to the negotiating table. National security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN leaves today on a trip to the Middle East where, among other things, he looks to make progress toward a cease-fire and hostage release deal in Gaza. Per The Jerusalem Post, Sullivan will meet with Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU and Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs RON DERMER on Thursday. On the minds of U.S. policymakers as they renew their push for a cease-fire and hostage release deal: this weekend’s events in Syria, which they hope will add to the pressure on Hamas to make a deal with Israel. "Hamas has gotta be looking out at the world today and realizing that the cavalry's not coming to rescue them. And so one would hope that recent developments in Syria reinforce for them that they are just increasingly isolated and ought to take a deal,” said National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY to reporters today. “There's an opportunity here to get the hostage deal in place, to get these families reunited, to get a surge of humanitarian assistance into Gaza. But again, there’s an awful lot of work that still has to be done.” The U.S. government isn’t the only party signaling optimism. The Israeli government is signaling that a deal could be on the horizon. Last week, Israeli Foreign Minister GIDEON SAAR told reporters that Israel “may have opportunity soon” to secure a deal to release remaining hostages. CNN reported this morning that the Biden administration is keeping President-elect DONALD TRUMP’s team apprised of the sensitive and painstaking work. Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, real estate mogul STEVE WITKOFF, has already visited the region and met with Israeli and Qatari officials. The renewed push from the White House comes as former Israeli hostages and the family members of those still in Gaza are in Washington this week delivering a stark message for policymakers: the hostages might not be able to survive until Trump takes office. NatSec Daily spoke with two of them: AVIVA SIEGEL, who was taken by Hamas militants along with her husband KEITH on Oct. 7, 2023, at the Kfar Aza kibbutz, and YARDEN GONEN, whose sister ROMI was kidnapped at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7, 2023. Siegel and Gonen are meeting with Sullivan before he departs for the Middle East and have meetings with prominent lawmakers, including incoming House Foreign Affairs Chair BRIAN MAST (R-Fla.) and House Democratic Whip KATHERINE CLARK of Massachusetts. In an interview, Siegel and Gonen warned that the dire conditions hostages are experiencing at the hands of Hamas will only worsen in the winter and that after a year in captivity, hostages may not have the physical strength to survive much longer. Many have lost considerable weight from starvation and are battling infections, dehydration and the psychological wounds of witnessing and experiencing torture, beatings and sexual violence in the tunnels, they say. “I went through hell, and they are going through hell,” said Siegel, who was released in the November 2023 release and whose husband remains in Hamas captivity. “We need the politicians and the people that have got the power to change, to change this world and say, ‘no more, no more.’” “We have a lot of emerging things that are very much important, but we have only a few that are urgent,” said Gonen, whose sister remains in Hamas captivity as well. “If we don't deal with it now, there won't be enough people alive to deal with.”
| | NEW FIGHTS IN SYRIA: The dust has hardly settled on the downfall of the Assad regime as fighting has flared up elsewhere in Syria. Turkish-backed fighters have launched a new offensive against the northern Syrian border town of Kobani controlled by U.S.-backed Kurdish forces. This means that yet again rival groups backed by two NATO allies (Ankara and Washington) are trying to kill each other — all as a tenuous transition to a new government in Syria begins. The White House said it was in close contact with Turkey on the matter to deconflict. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN is expected to travel to Turkey this week, according to one U.S. official familiar with the matter granted anonymity to speak freely. The State Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. QATAR TO THE RESCUE? A senior Qatari official indicated to our own NAHAL TOOSI during an interview today that his country is open to mediating if future infighting breaks out among the Syrian rebel groups that overthrew the country’s regime. “We never say no,” Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson MAJED AL-ANSARI said. He also confirmed that Qatari officials are already in contact with groups in Syria, though he declined to specifically say if the lead rebel force, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, is among them as reported by Reuters. “We are in touch with all the relevant parties on the ground,” he said. During a Tuesday briefing with reporters, Al-Ansari also said Qatar is in touch with the Biden administration and the Trump transition team about the best approach to Syria. Qatar has a long history of acting as a go-between for feuding parties, including Israel and Hamas as they continue to fight in Gaza. Serving as an intermediary in Syria could make Qatar an even more important partner for the United States, which often turns to it for help when dealing with adversaries. IT’S TUESDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily! This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at rgramer@politico.com and ebazail@politico.com, and follow Robbie and Eric on X @RobbieGramer and @ebazaileimil. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s global security team: @dave_brown24, @HeidiVogt, @jessicameyers, @RosiePerper, @nahaltoosi, @PhelimKine, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @reporterjoe, @JackDetsch, @samuelskove, @magmill95, and @johnnysaks130
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: All-Domain Deterrence, Now and for the Future
Lockheed Martin is leveraging advanced commercial technologies, such as artificial intelligence, edge computing and 5G.MIL® connectivity to meet the evolving challenges of a more complex battlespace. Learn more. | | | | | LAKE’S SHALLOW RECEPTION: Reports that former Arizona Senate candidate KARI LAKE could be the next U.S. ambassador to Mexico are landing like a lead balloon in the Mexican press and among those in Washington and Mexico who work on bilateral policy issues. It’s not a new rumor — Mexican journalists had been writing about the potential of a Lake ambassadorship since November — but the idea that the bomb-throwing former television anchor and Trump loyalist could be tasked with managing one of the most critical bilateral relationships is surprising some analysts. Lake has not shied from using caustic rhetoric toward Mexico during her 2022 run for governor and 2024 Senate run. And the selection of former Ambassador to Mexico CHRISTOPHER LANDAU as deputy secretary of State was seen as an indication Trump would take the region seriously and staff key Latin America roles with experienced figures. A former Mexican official texted NatSec Daily simply, “Kari Lake for ambassador, yikes” when asked about the news. Former Mexican Ambassador to the United States ARTURO SARUKHÁN suggested to The Hill’s RAFAEL BERNAL that Lake may lack the ability to navigate the nuances of the bilateral relationship. There are some upsides for Mexican President CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM. As ALEJANDRO DOMINGUEZ noted in the Mexican paper Milenio this morning, Lake would have a direct line to Trump and that could help facilitate negotiations around the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement and other areas of bilateral importance. “Somebody so close to him and with his ideology would bring Trump closer to any negotiation,” wrote Dominguez. “That’s why the 4T government should receive her with honors, collaborate with her and be sympathetic to her.”
| | | | HOLDING CHINA ACCOUNTABLE: The Biden administration on Tuesday announced indictments and sanctions against a Chinese citizen who allegedly hacked into more than 80,000 firewall devices globally in 2020, including at a U.S. government agency, our own MAGGIE MILLER writes in. The Justice Department unsealed an indictment against GUAN TIANFENG, who prosecutors allege is the ringleader of the breach. Prosecutors outlined charges that Guan and co-conspirators used a zero-day vulnerability in firewall products sold by cybersecurity group Sophos in order to gain access to networks worldwide. They also allege Guan and company conducted ransomware attacks against these devices. Guan is a resident of China, and the State Department concurrently announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of Guan. The State Department noted in announcing the reward that Guan’s use of malware to infect these systems in April 2020 “put American lives at risk.” Guan was an employee of the Chinese group Sichuan Silence Information Technology Company at the time of the hacks. The Treasury Department unveiled sanctions Tuesday against both the company and Guan.
| | | |   | | | | | HEGSETH’S HOPES: With Sen. JONI ERNST (R-Iowa) seemingly warming up to the idea of confirming Fox News contributor PETE HEGSETH to the top job at the Pentagon, Hegseth’s path to confirmation has improved significantly. And as our own MERIDITH McGRAW and NATALIE ALLISON report, it’s all part of a new strategy. Trump allies have been putting pressure on holdouts who are voicing skepticism about specific nominees, like Ernst has expressed about Hegseth. Hegseth also launched a defiant defense of himself, which Trump allies believe will strengthen his nomination, as well as those of TULSI GABBARD for director of national intelligence and KASH PATEL to lead the FBI. It’s not all good news for Hegseth — Ernst still isn’t a yes. As our friends at Morning Defense wrote this morning (for Pros!), there is also considerable agita over Hegseth in other corners and some attendees at the Reagan Forum were preparing themselves for either a quick retreat or a nasty hearing over Hegseth’s nomination.
| | GABBARD BACK TO THE HILL: Gabbard met one-on-one with Sen. TOM COTTON (R-Ark.) on Tuesday, as she continues her campaign to win over GOP foreign policy hawks and become the next director of National Intelligence. The former Democratic member of Congress met with Cotton — a leading candidate to become the next head of the Senate Intelligence Committee — in a SCIF. She was supposed to meet afterward with Sen. JIM RISCH (R-Idaho), another member of the Senate spy panel, but the meeting with Cotton ran long, according to her spokesperson in the nomination process, ALEXA HENNING. “Lt. Col. Gabbard’s meetings are going great, we’re excited by what we’re hearing, and we’re going to continue working hard and respecting the process,” Henning said in a statement. Meanwhile, KRISTAN NEVINS is serving as the Senate whisperer for Gabbard’s nomination, according to two people with knowledge of the role, granted anonymity to discuss personnel details. As our own GAVIN BADE and BETSY WOODRUFF SWAN report, Nevins is a longtime intelligence community veteran and former White House staffer in Trump’s first term. She didn’t return a request for comment. And former senior U.S. intelligence officer CHRISTOPHER PORTER is helming the landing team for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, according to three people familiar with the matter. Porter served in both the Trump and Biden administrations, according to his LinkedIn profile, and served as the National Intelligence Officer for Cyber from 2019 to 2022. Since leaving government, he has held senior cybersecurity roles at tech giant Google. Porter could not be reached for comment. BRIAN HUGHES, a Trump-Vance transition team spokesperson, said in a statement: “Per the MOU agreement, the Trump-Vance Transition is sharing landing team lists with the White House.” TAKING ACTION, FINALLY: Sen. RON WYDEN (D-Ore.) rolled out legislation Tuesday that would require the Federal Communications Commission to strengthen the security of U.S. telecommunications systems, amid an ongoing massive hacking effort by China against telecom companies. As Maggie writes in, the draft bill would require the FCC to take steps including conducting annual testing of U.S. phone systems to check for vulnerabilities against hackers, and create cyber requirements to halt eavesdropping on calls. The bill is the first formally introduced piece of legislation in direct response to the ongoing hacks of U.S. and global telecom systems, which have been tied to the Chinese government-linked hacking group Salt Typhoon. The hack compromised the devices of several U.S. officials including President-elect Trump, and top Biden administration officials told reporters last week that Americans should strongly consider using encrypted communications. The new bill appears aimed at putting into law steps initiated last week by FCC Chair JESSICA ROSENWORCEL, who proposed new security requirements for telecom carriers. The bill was also introduced the same day the full House was briefed behind closed doors on the hacks by top administration officials, one week after the Senate received a similar briefing that left members fuming.
| | GOVERNOR TRUDEAU? The Trump era of diplomacy has begun again even before the next president takes office. Trump mocked Canadian Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU in a Truth Social post Monday night, referencing his jokes about Canada as becoming a 51st U.S. state by referring to Trudeau as a U.S. governor. "It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada," he wrote. The jab came after Trump ranted about unbalanced trade with Canada and suggested he would impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada once he takes office. In response to these threats, Trudeau said Americans are “beginning to wake up to the real reality that tariffs on everything from Canada would make life a lot more expensive.”
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: 21st Century Security® – A New Standard of Connected Protection
We’re enhancing our platform-centric business with a network-centric model for cross-domain interconnectivity and interoperability. From space to cyberspace, air, sea and ground – Lockheed Martin is leading the mission-centric approach. Learn more. | | | | | — LEONARDO MARTINEZ-DIAZ is now senior fellow and director of the Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He previously led the climate finance team in the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate at the State Department. — TIM KEATING is now senior vice president of government relations at AMD. He most recently was senior vice president for government operations at Sierra Space and is a Boeing and Clinton White House alum.
| | — AMY MACKINNON, Foreign Policy: The transformation of Tulsi Gabbard — MARI SAITO, CHARLOTTE GREENFIELD and MOHAMMAD YUNUS YAWAR, Reuters: In aid-starved Afghanistan, relief workers fight a forgotten hunger crisis — BRIAN WINTER, Foreign Affairs: Latin America is about to become a priority for U.S. foreign policy
| | — Atlantic Council, 8:30 a.m.: The future of U.S. counterterrorism policy — Brookings Institution's Center on the United States and Europe, 9 a.m.: Relations with Turkey under Trump 2.0 — House Foreign Affairs Committee, 10 a.m.: An assessment of the State Department's withdrawal from Afghanistan by America's top diplomat — Atlantic Council, 10:30 a.m.: "Navigating 2025 and Beyond: Will the U.S. Meet the Moment?" as part of Central Europe Week. — House Foreign Affairs Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations Subcommittee, 2 p.m.: The communist Cuban regime's disregard for human rights — Washington Post Live, 2:30 p.m.: Emergency watchlist of countries at greatest humanitarian risk in 2025 with President of the International Rescue Committee DAVID MILIBAND — Hudson Institute, 4 p.m.: Sanctioned voices: Spotlighting China's global repression — National Endowment for Democracy, 5:30 p.m.: 21st annual Seymour Martin Lipset lecture, on “Democracy and Autocracy in the Russo-Ukrainian War." Thanks to our editor, Rosie Perper, who would make a terrible U.S. ambassador to Mexico. Thanks to our producer, Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing, who is a deft diplomat. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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