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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Alexander Ward, Matt Berg and Lawrence Ukenye | | 
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), the incoming chair of the House Select China Committee, was unable to meet Gen. Mark Milley, the Joint Chiefs chair, in a SCIF Wednesday because he’s not yet officially a member of Congress. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | With help from Lee Hudson, Nahal Toosi, Daniel Lippman and Lara Seligman Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt As entertaining as the House speaker fight is, the prolonged process has and could continue to impact U.S. national security oversight. Rep. MIKE GALLAGHER (R-Wis.), the incoming chair of the House Select China Committee, was unable to meet Gen. MARK MILLEY , the Joint Chiefs chair, in a SCIF Wednesday because he’s not yet officially a member of Congress. Yes, he’s a returning representative, but the House isn’t officially in place as the KEVIN McCARTHY battle rages, which means Gallagher doesn’t have the requisite permission to see or discuss classified materials. “Technically, I don't have a clearance," he told reporters yesterday. Rep. BRAD WENSTRUP (R-Ohio), who was on the House Intel Committee in the last Congress, lamented that "the secure facility that we work in every day when we're here, we can't go in there right now...We're in there all the time. And right now, we can't be in there at all." All of this and more has the presumptive chairs of the Intelligence, Armed Services and Foreign Affairs panels quite worried. “The Biden administration is going unchecked and there is no oversight of the White House, State Department, Department of Defense, or the intelligence community,” Reps. MIKE TURNER (R-Ohio), MIKE ROGERS (R-Ala.) and MICHAEL McCAUL (R-Texas) said in a joint statement. Staffers at government agencies can still brief some staffers, but for now, those staffers can’t brief their bosses on classified information. JONATHAN LORD, who worked on the House Armed Services Committee, told NatSec Daily that further delays could imperil the long process toward the next National Defense Authorization Act. HASC needs to conduct a dozen posture hearings and a chairman’s mark before the summer, receive briefings on the Pentagon’s budget justification and review hundreds of amendments before the markup. If much of this work isn’t done before the president’s budget drops early this year, “the committee would likely be unable to complete the process until significantly later in the calendar year,” Lord said. “A delay absolutely makes it harder for the committee to get its work done or do sufficient, regular oversight of DoD activities.” Of course, Lord’s scenario presumes the speaker-vote tumult lasts weeks, not days. Some experts say that a few day’s delay won’t be much of a problem. There are also some broader issues at play. For one, the 20 or so House Republicans blocking McCarthy say his support for continued assistance to Ukraine is a major reason for their opposition. “Today the House didn’t organize. Biggest loser: Zelensky. Biggest winner: US Taxpayers,” Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.) tweeted Tuesday. It’s possible that McCarthy might promise hard-right wingers some reductions in military and economic aid to Kyiv in exchange for the speakership. And then there’s what the congressional dysfunction looks like abroad. “[F]or US allies like Canada and others, the paralysis, instability and unpredictability this represents is a potentially vital threat,” tweeted THOMAS JUNEAU, a professor at the University of Ottawa. “Big worries for us up here.” A Western diplomat called what’s happening a “shit show,” telling CNN’s NATASHA BERTRAND that “honest to God this is what we wrote yesterday” in a cable back to their capital.
| | | UKRAINE’S SEMI-SECRET WEAPON: Ukrainian officials say they’ve shot down as many as 80 Iranian-made drones deployed by Russia since the New Year, and they have a little-known German-made weapon to thank. The nation’s troops have been using the Gepard system, a vehicle that can send dual streams of 35mm rounds ripping into the sky, to hit the drones, Ukrainian officials and advisers to Kyiv told our own PAUL MCLEARY. Berlin has sent 30 Gepard vehicles to Ukraine over the past year, with seven more on the way this year. The weapon, essentially an anti-aircraft gun that sits atop a tracked vehicle, provides Ukraine with a mobile air defense system that has played a key role in destroying Russian drones and missiles as the Kremlin continues to send waves of both at power stations and electrical generating plants. TANKER SORE: The White House on Thursday announced the U.S. is sending the Army’s primary infantry fighting vehicle to Ukraine. But what Kyiv really wants is Western tanks — and it may be closer than ever to getting its wish, our own Paul and LARA SELIGMAN report. The decision to send the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, a tracked armored combat vehicle that carries a turret-mounted machine gun, could pave the way for the U.S. and allies to begin providing more powerful Western tanks to Ukraine, something they have so far been reluctant to do, say experts and a U.S. official. On Wednesday, France announced that it will send its AMX-10 RC armored fighting vehicles to Kyiv. The AMX-10 is a highly mobile, wheeled system built around a powerful turret-mounted GIAT 105mm gun. Both factors could make it easier for Western nations to send modern tanks, for instance, Germany’s Leopards or even the U.S. Army’s M1 Abrams, said experts and the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about ongoing discussions. ERDOĞAN CALLS FOR CEASEFIRE: Turkish President RECEP TAYYIP ERDOĞAN urged Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN to declare a unilateral ceasefire to advance peace talks in Ukraine, Bloomberg’s PATRICK SYKES and FIRAT KOZOK report. In a phone call Thursday, Erdoğan cited the “positive results” of negotiations over prisoner exchanges, efforts to protect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, and the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Turkey brokered the deal alongside the U.N. late last year to continue the shipment of grain and food stocks into world markets. It’s the first time Erdoğan has called on the Kremlin to suspend fighting without a Ukrainian commitment to do the same. Hours later, Putin ordered a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine over Orthodox Christmas beginning Friday following an appeal from the head of the Russian Orthodox Church. In response, Ukrainian presidential adviser MYKHAILO PODOLYAK tweeted that the ceasefire was a “cynical trap” and an “element of propaganda.” BIDEN ON THE BORDER:Biden will make his first visit to the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday since taking office, our own MYAH WARD reports. He will visit El Paso, Texas, to “address border enforcement operations and meet with local officials,” administration officials said Thursday. The announcement follows comments the president made Wednesday, when he said he intended to visit the border before his trip to Mexico City for the “Three Amigos” summit with his Canadian and Mexican counterparts. Biden’s plans to visit the border were revealed just before a scheduled speech to unveil a new humanitarian “parole” program for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. The U.S. will accept up to 30,000 migrants per month from those nations in a border strategy that will be paired with the expanded use of Title 42 expulsions. AUSTIN AT AIPAC:Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN will address the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s Political Leadership Forum next week, the group’s spokesperson MARSHALL WITTMANN confirmed to NatSec Daily. The news was first reported by Jewish Insider’s MARC ROD. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN spoke at a conference last December hosted by the left-leaning J Street, where he expressed veiled concerns about Israel’s then-incoming far-right government. It’s interesting that, with the government now in place, Austin will speak to the more right-leaning AIPAC. A DoD official told NatSec Daily that Austin will be "speaking on Jan 10 and will reaffirm the ironclad U.S. commitment to Israel’s security and qualitative military edge." IT’S THURSDAY: 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 award@politico.com and mberg@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter at @alexbward and @mattberg33. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @woodruffbets, @politicoryan, @PhelimKine, @BryanDBender, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @magmill95, @ericgeller, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco and @Lawrence_Ukenye.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Our mission is to prepare you for the future by engineering advanced capabilities today.
Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more. | | | | | | AIRSPACE INTRUDER: South Korean officials announced Thursday that a North Korean drone violated the country's no-fly zone in December after previously denying that Pyongyang illegally intruded into the airspace near Seoul's top government office, The Washington Post's MIN JOO KIM reports. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff reversed the denial after a posture review found the North Korean aircraft entered a restricted 2.3-mile area but did not fly directly over Seoul's presidential office. The revelation comes after South Korean President YOON SUK YEOL announced he was mulling severing the country's 2018 deal with the country that enacted a no-fly zone around the border and the removal of landmines and guard posts within the Demilitarized Zone.
| | | TWITTER RECORDS POSTED ON HACKER DATABASE:More than 235 million records of Twitter accounts and their associated email addresses were posted to an online hacking forum, potentially exposing users’ identities and putting their safety and security at risk, The Washington Post’s JOSEPH MENN reports. Security experts warn that the posting could lead to threats of extortion, arrest or violence against those who speak out against governments or powerful people. Hackers could also attempt to take over the accounts by using the email addresses to reset passwords.
| | | INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATION: Dedrone announced Thursday its acquisition of Aerial Armor, an Arizona-based developer of drone detection systems. The deal helps Dedrone cover nearly 50 percent of the U.S. population, while Aerial Armor’s radio frequency-based hardware helps solve lingering detection problems, MATT ALTMAN, co-founder and chief technology officer at Aerial Armor, tells our own LEE HUDSON. Dedrone uses hardware and software to detect objects in the airspace, determine what is an enemy drone, break the communication link between an enemy drone and its pilot, and disrupt the GPS signal. PARENTAL LEAVE EXPANSION: Service members will now be able to take up to 12 weeks of parental leave, double the previous limit of six, according to a Defense Department policy that took effect Wednesday. The new rule applies to both birthing and non-birthing troops and includes parents of children born or adopted after Dec. 27, 2022. The new DoD policy also benefits servicemembers by standardizing parental leave policy across the services, rather than each one setting their own individual requirements, said LORY MANNING , a member of the board of directors at the Service Women's Action Network, an organization that advocates for current and former women in the military.
| | | 'COLD WAR' VICTORY OVER CHINA: Rep. Gallagher spoke with our own PHELIM KINE to discuss what he hopes to achieve over the next two years while he chairs the House Select Committee on China. As for the committee’s top priorities, the Wisconsin Republican said lawmakers will “be looking big picture,” focusing on preventing conflict over Taiwan and exploring “long-term investments we need to make to win this new Cold War with Communist China.” Gallagher said a comparison to the “old Cold War” isn’t entirely accurate but is a helpful framework to describe China’s competition with the U.S. in the past decade. Gallagher also said he’s compiling a list of legislation he believes can be passed even in a divided Congress and thinks he can convince most Democrats that he’s right to ban Tik Tok. “I can confidently predict that the Chinese Communist Party is going to be our biggest national security problem for at least the next decade, if not the next three,” Gallagher said. HOUSE SURVEILLANCE COMMITTEE: The Republican Freedom Caucus hopes to create a subcommittee to investigate surveillance from law enforcement and federal agencies as part of negotiations with McCarthy, The Intercept’s DANIEL BOGUSLAW reports. The committee on "Weaponization of the Federal Government" would be an effort from the far-right group to probe agencies they believe treated former President DONALD TRUMP unfairly. Freedom Caucus members hope to model the committee after the Church Committee, which probed the CIA and other federal intelligence agencies and ultimately achieved several reforms within those groups.
| | | REMEMBER ME?: The Biden administration shut out outgoing Chinese ambassador QIN GANG for much of his year-and-a-half tenure in Washington. That’s likely to cause some headaches, considering he’s the country’s newly appointed foreign minister, Phelim also reports. During his tenure, Qin didn’t get all of the meetings he requested, and was limited to meetings with just a handful of U.S. officials despite repeated requests to meet with more senior administration officials, according to two people with knowledge of the interactions — a characterization of events the White House rejects. The tension will be front and center in the coming weeks when SecState Blinken visits China as the countries clash over trade, Chinese military intimidation of Taiwan and access to technology.
| | | |   | | | | | | — JARRETT BLANC, the U.S. deputy special envoy for Iran, will leave the State Department Iran team and return to the Department of Energy to work on nuclear policy-related issues, three U.S. officials told Axios’ BARAK RAVID. — BONNIE GLICK has joined the advisory board of China-focused risk advisory firm Strategy Risks. She is the inaugural director of the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue and is the former deputy administrator of USAID. — Former Deputy Secretary of State JOHN SULLIVAN, who most recently served as the U.S. Ambassador to Russia, has rejoined Mayer Brown as a partner. — Sigma7 has appointed MARTIN DEMPSEY, the 18th Joint Chiefs chair, TOM COSENTINO, retired brigadier general and NADIA SCHADLOW, former deputy national security adviser, to serve as members of its advisory board. — PIERRE PRAKASH was named the new director of the International Crisis Group’s Asia program. He was its deputy director. — DARA LIND has joined the American Immigration Council as a senior fellow. She was a reporter covering immigration issues at ProPublica and Vox. — CLAY DOHERTY was appointed as the German Marshall Fund of the United States’ managing director for strategic convening. He was the managing director of High Touch Entertainment and is a USAID alum.
| | | — QIN GANG, The Washington Post: The planet’s future depends on a stable China-U.S. relationship — JOSEPH DUNFORD JR., GRAHAM ALLISON and JONAH GLICK-UNTERMAN, Foreign Affairs: Guardians of the Republic — Rep. JODEY ARRINGTON and MACKENZIE EAGLEN, Air Force Times: Bombers necessary to deter and defeat
| | | — The Wilson Center, 3:30 p.m.: Tenth North American Leaders' Summit Preview Have a natsec-centric event coming up? Transitioning to a new defense-adjacent or foreign policy-focused gig? Shoot me an email at award@politico.com to be featured in the next edition of the newsletter. Thanks to our editor, Dave Brown, who believes the time it takes for us to file is a threat to this newsletter. We also thank our producer, Kierra Frazier, who would win a speaker vote on the first try.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Our mission is to prepare you for the future by engineering advanced capabilities today.
Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate independently. Through our 21st Century Security vision, Lockheed Martin is accelerating innovation, connecting defense and digital to enhance the performance of major platforms, to equip customers to stay ahead of emerging threats. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
