Austin gets Senate confirmation hearing today
January 19, 2021With Connor O’Brien and Jacqueline Feldscher
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— Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin’s confirmation process begins today as Congress debates whether he should be granted a waiver to be secretary of Defense.
— Hundreds of active-duty troops will be providing medical and explosives expertise in the nation’s capital ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration Wednesday.
— Hypersonic missiles could be a lot of hype, according to a new scientific study that cast doubt on billions in new investments.
HAPPY TUESDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we’re calling on the spirit of one-term President John Adams. He may have blown off the inauguration of his successor and own vice president, Thomas Jefferson, after their bitterly contested electoral vote tie was thrown into the House of Representatives. But Adams bequeathed us one of our most sacred traditions: the peaceful transfer of power. As author and political commentator Margaret Bayard Smith wrote at the time: “The changes of administration, which in every government and in every age have most generally been epochs of confusion, villainy and bloodshed, in this our happy country take place without any species of distraction, or disorder.” We’re always on the lookout for tips, pitches and feedback. Email us at [email protected] and [email protected]. And follow on Twitter @bryandbender, @sarahjcamm, @morningdefense and @politicopro.
AUSTIN FACES CONGRESS: The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold its confirmation hearing today at 3 p.m. for Austin, followed by an appearance before the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday.
Austin, who has not been out of uniform the required seven years, faces resistance in both parties, including from several Democrats on the panel who have said they oppose granting him an exception. Most expect the nomination to prevail, but Austin is likely to be grilled over a host of issues:
Civilian control: Democrats and Republicans have expressed concern that turning to the second retired general in four years to run the Pentagon could further erode civilian control of the military. Expect senators to press Austin for his plans to shore up civilian voices at the Defense Department and how he'd approach the top civilian Pentagon job differently from his time as a military commander.
China and Russia: Austin will also likely field questions about how he'll work to better prepare the Pentagon to confront the recent military advances by Russia and China. Some Austin critics assert his long experience leading troops in the Middle East is a bad fit for such a strategic shift.
Industry ties: Austin, who served on the board of directors of Raytheon Technologies (which still owes him significant earnings) and advised an investment company with interests in defense companies, is also likely to be questioned by progressive Democrats on how he will avoid conflicts of interest.
HOUSE GETS ITS TURN: Austin is also set to testify before the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday. While only the Senate can confirm him for the Cabinet post, both chambers must approve the waiver.
House Armed Services Chair Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) introduced the waiver for Austin on Friday, saying in a statement that the general “has reinforced his understanding of the role civilian control of our military plays in the safety and security of our democracy.”
He also urged his Democratic colleagues on Monday to support Austin, warning that blocking his nomination “will send a false, dangerous message that Congress believes a highly qualified African American is unable to do the job.”
Austin also got a boost from more than a dozen former top Pentagon officials from both parties, who urged Congress in an open letter on Monday to grant him a waiver “as quickly as possible.”
Related: Dems aim for quick approval of Biden's national security picks, via POLITICO’s Burgess Everett.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee also holds a confirmation hearing for Alejandro Mayorkas to be the first Latino and first immigrant secretary of Homeland Security at 10 a.m.
And the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Antony Blinken to be secretary of State at 2 p.m.
The Arms Control Association holds a webinar on the nuclear challenges facing the Biden administration in the first 100 days at 11 a.m.
On Wednesday, Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on the Capitol’s West Front, at noon.
On Thursday, Defense One and Nextgov host a conference on artificial intelligence featuring Alka Patel, head of ethics policy at the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, beginning at noon.
On Friday, the National Security Space Association is hosting a discussion with Air Force Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at 1 p.m.
For a full rundown of events check out the Pro Calendar.
ACTIVE-DUTY TROOPS CALLED IN: With more than 20,000 National Guard troops already deployed after the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the Pentagon has also authorized 750 active-duty troops to support enhanced security measures for the inauguration, our colleague Lara Seligman reports.
The new contingent includes medical teams, including support for Covid testing at the event, and units trained to respond to a range of explosives.
‘NO STONE UNTURNED’: After it was revealed that a number of the rioters who attacked the Capitol had served in the military, officials have grown more concerned about the potential for extremist elements among those tasked with preventing another assault.
Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller on Monday said there is “no intelligence indicating an insider threat,” but commanders aren't taking any chances.
“While we have no intelligence indicating an insider threat, we are leaving no stone unturned in securing the capital,” he said in a statement. “This type of vetting often takes place by law enforcement for significant security events. However, in this case the scope of military participation is unique.”
The FBI also warned law enforcement on Monday that QAnon conspiracy theorists seeking to disrupt the inauguration have discussed posing as National Guard troops in order to infiltrate the event, The Washington Post reported.
Related: Attack on Capitol was the beginning of an American insurgency, counterterrorism experts warn, via Yahoo News.
And: Legislation would bar Capitol rioters, QAnon members from holding security clearances, via our colleague Connor O'Brien.
ANTI-ISIS CHIEF RECALLED: Biden is planning to bring back Christopher Maier, the former director of the Defeat ISIS Task Force who was fired by the Trump administration late last year, to be the acting civilian overseeing special operations forces, Seligman also reports.
When Maier was fired, Brett McGurk, Trump’s former special envoy to the coalition to defeat the Islamic State, called his former colleague “a nonpartisan professional” with ”years of institutional knowledge on an exceedingly complex set of issues.”
Harris gets deputy national security adviser: The Biden-Harris transition team also announced over the weekend that Philip Gordon, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, will be deputy national security adviser to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Harris has picked Nancy McEldowney, a veteran diplomat, to be her national security adviser.
Related: The ‘deep state’ of loyalists Trump is leaving behind for Biden, via POLITICO’s Alice Miranda Ollstein and Megan Cassella.
And: Trump loyalist to be installed as NSA's top lawyer, via POLITICO’s Martin Matishak.
FIRST IN MORNING D — Lockheed sponsors inauguration: Lockheed Martin pledged to donate $1 million to Biden’s “America United” inauguration, making the top Pentagon contractor a gold sponsor, a company spokesperson told POLITICO. Other corporate sponsors include Boeing, General Motors and Ford, according to Biden’s inauguration website.
The move comes shortly after several defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, temporarily halted political contributions to both parties after the Jan. 6 violence at the Capitol.
NOT SO FAST: What if all the bold predictions about the battlefield potential of hypersonic weapons were mostly hype? That’s what a new peer-reviewed study in the journal Science and Global Security claims.
“Computational modeling of hypersonic boost-glide missiles reveals that the capabilities of these weapons are limited by fundamental physical constraints,” it says. “The drag forces they encounter during low altitude glide rapidly reduce their velocity.”
Moreover, “low altitude flight also produces immense heating of glider surfaces, yielding [infrared] signatures sufficient for detection by existing space-based sensors,” it adds. “These results call into question many of the purported advantages of hypersonic weapons over existing missile technologies.”
Said co-author Cameron Tracy of the Union of Concerned Scientists: “Hypersonic missiles are not the revolutionary technology they’re claimed to be. The United States is spending vast sums of money on these new weapons that will perform worse, in many ways, than the ballistic missiles we already have.”
FOR BETTER OR WORSE: Donald Trump’s presidency comes to a cataclysmic end this week, but the impact of his administration on government policy will be felt long after he is gone.
From defense, health care, the economy and the environment to the role of religion in public life and the makeup of the nation’s social safety net, the last four years have shaped the policy landscape in consequential ways, some good and some decidedly not.
POLITICO Magazine drew on some of our leading policy reporters to lay out the 30 things Trump did as president you might have missed. Two things that made the list: great power competition and the first-ever Pentagon-wide financial audit.
KOCH FLEXES MUSCLE: The Charles Koch Institute, which already funds a number of think tanks dedicated to reevaluating America’s role in the world, is opening up its checkbook for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the International Crisis Group.
The foundation is dedicating $4.5 million to Carnegie’s new American Statecraft Program and $2.4 million for programs at the International Crisis Group that “challenge assumptions around the effectiveness of U.S. interventions abroad and encourage non-military solutions to foreign policy challenges,” the institute said.
— House Democrats introduce measures to oppose Trump's bomb sale to Saudis: The Hill
— How the defense budget could actually increase (slightly): War on the Rocks
— The crash landing of 'Operation Warp Speed': POLITICO
— Trump orders assessment of security risks of Chinese made drones in U.S. govt fleet: Reuters
— Pence thanks U.S. troops at Fort Drum: The Associated Press
— Will the big tech workforce be with us if we go to war? RealClear Investigations
— Costs of implementing recommendations of the 2019 Missile Defense Review: Congressional Budget Office
— Conflicts to watch in 2021: Council on Foreign Relations
— U.S. says military withdrawal from Somalia complete: The Associated Press
— Russia withdraws from Open Skies Treaty after U.S. departure: The Associated Press
— India's friction with U.S. rises over planned purchase of Russian S-400 defence systems: Reuters
— Trump should be denied intelligence briefings, Schiff says: POLITICO
— The terror of Russia’s nuclear submarine graveyard: Popular Mechanics
— Washington must treat white supremacist terrorism as a transnational threat: Foreign Policy
Source: https://www.politico.com/