Ryan to roll out national security agenda Presented by Northrop Grumman

With Zach Montellaro, Connor O’Brien, Austin Wright and Ellen Mitchell

RYAN TO ROLL OUT GOP NATIONAL SECURITY AGENDA: House Speaker Paul Ryan is unveiling the House Republican national security agenda this morning, a policy document intended as a rebuke to President Barack Obama’s foreign policy — but also serving as a counterweight to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump.


The 23-page document issues broad themes on terrorism, securing the border, strengthening alliances, reforming the State Department and modernizing the military.

Republicans spend plenty of ink slamming the Obama administration, from the Iran deal to restoring relations with Cuba to the Russia reset. But the agenda also contains some gentle pushback to Trump’s foreign policy pronouncements — including his border wall with Mexico, where the agenda states that “we need more than just fencing” to secure the border. House Republicans propose more Border Patrol agents, “high fencing” and better surveillance.

The agenda states clearly the U.S. “should maintain a strong NATO presence in Europe,” after Trump suggested had suggested NATO was obsolete. House Republicans do call for pressing allies to spend more on the military, in a nod to Trump’s complaint the U.S. is contributing too much to the alliance. But in several cases, the document is short on specifics.

It calls for modernizing the military, for instance, but it doesn't attempt to quantify the added costs that come with it. And nowhere does it mention a repeal of the Budget Control Act that Republican defense hawks warn is strangling the defense budget and decimating the military’s readiness — but the party’s fiscal hawks support keeping in place.

Ryan and other top Republicans are rolling out the national security agenda at a Council on Foreign Relations event this morning. It’s the second plank in the speaker’s “A Better Way” policy agenda, following his plan to counter poverty on Tuesday. He'll be joined by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and six GOP committee chairmen.

SENATE TO VOTE TODAY — REALLY — ON SPENDING AMENDMENTS: Yes, the Senate will take amendment votes today on the National Defense Authorization Act. The chamber famous for its methodical pace is doing just that as it debates the defense policy bill, but it’s scheduled 11:15 a.m. votes on two amendments: Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain’s proposal to increase defense spending by $18 billion through the Overseas Contingency Operations war account and a Democratic alternative to provide an equal boost in domestic spending. Both will need 60 votes to pass.

— SO, WILL THE BILL GET DONE THIS WEEK? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) filed a motion to cut off debate on the bill Wednesday night, which could set up a procedural vote leading to final passage on Friday. The two sides also could reach an agreement to finish the bill earlier — the Senate has yet to vote on Friday this year — or they even could strike a deal to allow for amendment votes into next week (though that’s looking less likely).

McConnell’s motion could spell trouble for senators eager to get votes on their contentious amendments. And several senators are pushing for their proposals to be debated, including Florida Sen. Bill Nelson’s measure on Russian rocket engines and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s military sexual assault reform proposal. At this point, however, there'll have to be agreement for the Senate to do much of anything on amendments if it sticks to the Friday deadline.

— YOU GET A LETTER, AND YOU GET A LETTER: With such a sweeping bill, the NDAA attracts plenty of attention from outside advocacy groups, and the letters and op/eds have been flying around Capitol Hill. A sampling in the MD inbox includes a letter from progressive and anti-war groups against McCain’s amendment to boost defense spending, another from open government groups on removing Freedom of Information Act exemptions from the bill, an op-ed from former Air Force Space Command chief retired Gen. William Shelton backing ULA in its fight with SpaceX and one more supporting Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) proposal on countering violent extremism.

HAPPY THURSDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we're always on the lookout for tips, pitches and feedback. Email us at [email protected], and follow on Twitter @jeremyherb, @morningdefense and @politicopro.

HAPPENING TODAY — CARTER TO ROLL OUT ‘FORCE OF THE FUTURE’ INITIATIVE: Defense Secretary Ash Carter rolls out the latest part of his “Force of the Future” initiative in the Pentagon courtyard. It’s Carter’s third batch of “Force of the Future” reforms and The Associated Press reports this morning that Carter will propose changes to the military’s “up or out” promotion system. “Force of the Future” has not been without controversy, as Republicans on Capitol Hill have been critical of it, and it was connected to the departure of Carter’s former personnel chief, Brad Carson.

— THE MEETING SHALL NOT BE DISCUSSED: SpaceX and Tesla co-founder Elon Musk met with the defense secretary Wednesday, but neither the Pentagon nor Musk wanted to say much about it afterward. “Elon has a number of long-standing commitments in D.C. and is making a courtesy visit to the secretary while in town,” a SpaceX spokesman said Wednesday. While Carter may have been glad Musk stopped by, the Pentagon declined to provide a readout of the meeting. Musk had fun with the media speculation on his visit, tweeting: “Something about a flying metal suit…”

ALSO TODAY: The House Armed Services Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee holds a joint hearing with the Foreign Affairs Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade Subcommittee on targeting the finances of terror groups. And staffers from the Senate Armed Services and House Foreign Affairs Committees discuss Asia foreign policy and defense issues this afternoon at the Heritage Foundation.

RNC GETS INPUT ON ITS DEFENSE AND FOREIGN POLICY PLATFORM: The Republican National Committee held a “listening session” with defense and foreign policy analysts and lobbyists on Wednesday to discuss its party platform. Two attendees told Morning D it was a “productive” meeting with RNC officials in a listening mode. Among the issues discussed: elevating terrorism as a threat beyond the Middle East, Israel, rebuilding the tools of statecraft and U.S. alliances — including NATO, where Republicans’ robust foreign policy orthodoxy has been at odds with Trump.

One attendee said the consensus message was to “strongly reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the alliance,” while also noting the importance that NATO members should be meeting their 2 percent threshold, in a nod to some of Trump’s concerns. This won’t be the only RNC listening session on defense issues: another is being held Monday, according to an MD tipster.

— NATO VS. TRUMP OVER NEW INTEL POST, via our colleague Louis Nelson: “Donald Trump bragged to Bloomberg Wednesday that his criticism led to NATO’s plan to create a new high-level intelligence post to help combat terrorism. But NATO says Trump had nothing to do with it. The presumptive Republican nominee has sniped at the trans-Atlantic treaty organization throughout his campaign, arguing the U.S. disproportionately funds NATO even though it ‘doesn’t cover terrorism.’

“Trump told Bloomberg that the creation of NATO’s new assistant secretary general for intelligence position is ‘all because of me.’ NATO disputed Trump’s claim and said the new position has no connection to the presumptive GOP nominee or any other candidate.”

FOR YOUR RADAR — SPENDING BILLS COULD BE ON TAP NEXT WEEK: The House Rules Committee will meet next week to sort through amendments to the defense appropriations bill ahead of possible floor consideration. Next week's meeting indicates that floor action on the defense bill is also possible then. A spokesman for the House majority leader, however, characterized the timing of the bill as still to be determined. The Senate could also take up its defense spending bill next week.

— BUT THE RULES ARE A-CHANGIN’ FOR THE DEFENSE BILL IN THE HOUSE, reports our colleagues Jake Sherman and Heather Caygle: “House Speaker Paul Ryan is looking to tighten leadership's grip on the appropriations process by blocking amendments that could sink spending bills. The proposal, which Ryan (R-Wis.) made in a closed-door party meeting Wednesday morning, is being billed as a slight walk back from his promise of opening the House floor to a raft of amendments. But Ryan and the GOP leadership expect most amendments will still be permitted and only so-called poison pill proposals will be blocked.”

WAR REPORT — IRAQI TROOPS ENTER FALLUJAH, via the AP: “A column of black Humvees carrying Iraqi special forces rolled into southern Fallujah on Wednesday, the first time in more than two years that government troops have entered the western city held by the Islamic State group. The counterterrorism troops fought house-to-house battles with the militants in the Shuhada neighborhood, and the operation to retake the city is expected to be one of the most difficult yet.”

— BUT MORE BOMBINGS AROUND BAGHDAD, reports Reuters: “More than 22 people were killed and 70 wounded in two separate bombings on Thursday in Baghdad, one targeting a commercial street and the other an army checkpoint, Iraqi police said.”

ALLIES OF RAND PAUL, KOCH TAKE AIM AT HAWKS, reports POLITICO’s Bryan Bender: “Sen. Rand Paul’s vision of a less militaristic foreign policy got little traction in the GOP primaries, but some of his key backers are joining forces with associates of billionaire Charles Koch in a fresh effort to steer Washington away from interventions in overseas wars. They're launching a think tank, the Defense Priorities Foundation, that seeks to elevate national security policies that are decidedly out of the mainstream of Republican - and even some Democratic - foreign policy thinking, featuring a significantly greater reluctance to assert military force or even impose sanctions on nations such as North Korea.”

MAKING MOVES — MCHUGH TO K&L GATES: Former Army Secretary John McHugh has been hired by lobbying firm K&L Gates, reports our POLITICO Influence colleague Isaac Arnsdorf . “McHugh told PI he had talks with about a dozen firms and chose K&L Gates for its global reach and collaborative approach. He is eight months into his two-year cooling-off period during which he can't lobby the Defense Department, but he will be providing ‘strategic advice.’ He ruled out returning to public office.

“Before becoming secretary, McHugh rose to ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. LeMay was his principal civilian adviser and also worked for him on the Hill. … K&L Gates' defense clients include Textron Systems, Michael Baker International and ManTech International.”

SPEED READ

— About a dozen detainees released from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have launched attacks against U.S. or allied forces in Afghanistan: The Washington Post

— The Pentagon is planning to shift its command structure in the Islamic State fight to increase reliance on the U.S. Special Operations Command: The Wall Street Journal

— The U.N. accuses the leaders of the African nation Eritrea of widespread crimes against humanity: The New York Times

— While the battle rages around Fallujah, 90,000 civilians are still trapped in the city: Reuters

— The defense secretary and his Swedish counterpart sign a new defense pact: POLITICO Pro

— A Defense Department inspector general investigation into a Medal of Honor denial shows how subjective the process can be: The Washington Post

— U.S. carrier movement in the Mediterranean Sea is intended to send a message to Russia: WSJ

— A study says EU defense spending increased, while defense research and technology spending was at its lowest level: Defense News

— Military lawyers push back against allegations from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s defense team that the prosecutors colluded with the judge in the case: The Guardian

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