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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Matt Berg | With help from Lee Hudson, Paul McLeary and Connor O’Brien Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt Tomorrow’s the big day for TikTok to assuage Congress’s national security concerns, or for lawmakers to dig in deeper. So far, the latter seems much more likely. TikTok CEO SHOU ZI CHEW, who has launched a seemingly futile charm offensive in recent months to convince lawmakers that the video-sharing platform is a “sunny corner of the internet,” testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Thursday morning. His aim: persuade lawmakers that the app — which boasts 150 million users in the U.S. — doesn’t pose a risk to Americans or share data with the Chinese government. With this testimony in particular, it’s clear that Chew faces a Sisyphean battle: Key lawmakers on the committee have already made up their mind. Committee chair CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS (R-Wash.) wants a nationwide ban, Republican aides for the committee told reporters earlier this week. When asked if Chew could do anything to persuade the committee that TikTok — owned by the Chinese company ByteDance — can protect Americans’ data from the Chinese Communist Party absent a ban or a forced sale, an aide was blunt: “The answer is no.” The hearing will be “fireworks and posturing on both sides, unless [Chew] makes a concession,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ JAMES LEWIS told NatSec Daily. So far, TikTok has been unwilling to bend to lawmakers’ whims, and “I don't get the sense that he's willing to do that” at the hearing, Lewis added. The CEO has said he wants to overcome what he has called the “trust deficit” with lawmakers. But leading backers of legislation curbing TikTok’s influence in the United States say it’s all or nothing. “While I appreciate Mr. Chew’s willingness to answer questions before Congress, TikTok’s lack of transparency, repeated obfuscations and misstatements of fact have severely undermined the credibility of any statements by TikTok employees, including Mr. Chew,” Sen. MARK WARNER (D-Va.), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told NatSec Daily in a statement. Earlier this month, Warner introduced the bipartisan RESTRICT Act, which would give the federal government power to restrict and potentially ban the app. House Foreign Affairs Chair MICHAEL McCAUL (R-Texas), who helped force through a bill that could ban TikTok from mobile devices in America, stressed to NatSec Daily that the only solution he sees is “ByteDance’s full divestment from all assets and control of TikTok.” Sen. JOSH HAWLEY (R-Mo.), who introduced his own legislation to ban the app nationwide in January, said Chew’s testimony can’t change his position. “I don’t think TikTok’s CEO will be keen to answer questions about the app’s data collection or its ties to the CCP,” Hawley said in a statement to NatSec Daily. But Hawley said he doesn’t need any more information to know that a ban is needed. If there’s any saving grace for Chew, it might be found in Rep. JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-N.Y.). On Tuesday night, the progressive first-term lawmaker became the major ally for TikTok in Congress, opposing a nationwide ban of the app. But the House is ruled by Republicans, so one Democratic lawmaker’s support is unlikely to make a difference on short notice. Chew can use all the support he can get. His best move, which he plans on making, is to hammer home the app’s popularity among nearly half the U.S. population, who are mostly young. If a ban on TikTok went through, “the politician in me thinks you’re going to literally lose every voter under 35, forever,” Commerce Secretary GINA RAIMONDO told Bloomberg News earlier this month.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | NO RESTRICTIONS: The State Department is ending its controversial policy of issuing assignment restrictions for diplomats as a condition of security clearance, our own DANIEL LIPPMAN reports. The restrictions were mostly used to prevent foreign intelligence agencies from targeting diplomats working on issues in countries that they’d immigrated from, had family in, or had financial relationships with. Democratic lawmakers criticized the practice, saying they were discriminatory and hurt American understanding of the world, especially China. “I’m pleased to share that after a rigorous review, I have decided that, moving forward, the Department will end its practice of issuing new assignment restrictions as a condition placed on a security clearance,” Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN wrote to employees on Wednesday. XI IN MOSCOW, PART 3: Chinese President XI JINPING wrapped up his three-day trip to Russia on Wednesday, characterizing it as “journey of friendship, cooperation and peace.” While Xi deepened ties with Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN, there was no sign of movement toward peace talks with Ukraine, the Associated Press reports. Following the trip, Chinese officials repeated claims that the country is neutral in the war and that it has “no selfish motives on the Ukraine issue, has not stood idly by ... or taken the opportunity to profit itself.” "Right now there are changes, the likes of which we haven't seen for 100 years," Xi told Putin as the leaders parted, per The New York Times’ VALERIE HOPKINS. "And we are the ones driving these changes together.” Overnight, a wave of missiles and armed drones from Moscow struck residential buildings in the Kyiv region, killing four people in a dormitory, The Wall Street Journal’s JARED MALSIN reports. The attack, so soon after Putin and Xi met, was “ironic” given their discussion about potential peace between Russia and Ukraine, National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY said on CNN. ‘WOKE’ BACKLASH EXPECTED: As top Pentagon officials ready to defend its budget proposal in front of Congress this week, they’re preparing to face backlash from GOP lawmakers on a hot topic: ‘wokeness,’ our own CONNOR O’BRIEN, LARA SELIGMAN and LEE HUDSON report. In recent years, the Pentagon has come under scrutiny from the right for implementing policies some conservatives say push a liberal agenda at the expense of readiness. So, DoD leaders plan to show up armed with data and facts this week. Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. MARK MILLEY “is an information guy, so he has binders and binders full of information about how the military trains and prepares for combat,” said his spokesperson, Col. DAVID BUTLER. “Wokeness doesn’t fit into that equation. Working together as a fighting unit regardless of your race, color or gender does.” The divide was on display at a Senate Armed Services hearing on military recruiting challenges on Wednesday, where military undersecretaries faced questions about combating extremism and promoting diversity. "The Department of Defense must put at least as much effort into solving the recruiting crisis as it has into other initiatives, like extremism, diversity, equity and inclusion and abortion," SASC ranking member ROGER WICKER (R-Miss.) said. Armed Services Chair JACK REED (D-R.I.), meanwhile, argued “diversity and inclusion strengthen our military” and said he's yet to hear the term wokeness “defined as an actual policy or articulated position." LOAN FOR UKRAINE: The International Monetary Fund made a preliminary agreement to give Ukraine a $15.6 billion loan over four years to close budget deficits and repair damage caused by Russia’s invasion. The IMF is expected to review the agreement, intended to stabilize the nation’s economy, in the coming weeks, The New York Times’ VICTORIA KIM reports. The fund previously estimated that the government had a budget shortfall of $5 billion, and Ukraine’s government said it would close the gap through financing from the U.S. and European Union Russia’s invasion devastated Ukraine, causing the economy to shrink 30 percent last year — the biggest decline seen since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. IT’S WEDNESDAY: 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, @PhelimKine, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco and @Lawrence_Ukenye.
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Innovating at hypersonic speed.
Lockheed Martin is innovating with urgency to solve today’s hypersonic strike and defense challenges. We’re investing in the American hypersonic workforce and supplier base, to ensure our customers stay ready for what’s ahead. Learn more. | | | | | | SIT DOWN WITH DESANTIS: Florida Gov. RON DeSANTIS took repeated shots at former President DONALD TRUMP, from his personal life to his leadership style as commander-in-chief, in a lengthy interview with PIERS MORGAN previewed in a New York Post column Tuesday night. While most of the talk centered on recent Trump’s animosity toward his likely 2024 opponent, Morgan asked DeSantis about how much truth matters on the world stage, given that leaders like Trump and former U.K. Prime Minister BORIS JOHNSON were known for their frequent false remarks. “Truth is essential. We have to agree that there’s a certain reality to the world we live in and if we can just create our own facts then we’re never gonna be able to agree on anything or never really be able to do policy in a way that makes sense, and so yes, it’s not your truth or my truth, it’s THE truth,” DeSantis said, per Morgan’s column. POMPEO BLASTS BIDEN ON CHINA: Former Secretary of State MIKE POMPEO, a likely 2024 GOP contender, criticized the Biden administration for not cracking down on China hard enough about Xi’s visit to Moscow. “To hear the White House play this down as if it's insignificant or unimportant is a strategic mistake. It may be a shotgun wedding, but they are still married,” Pompeo said on Fox News, referring to China and Russia’s relations. Beijing has repeatedly crossed the Biden administration’s “red line” on helping Moscow “willy-nilly,” and Washington hasn’t moved quickly enough to rebuke Xi’s moves, he said.
| | | SHARING FOR SAFETY: Sens. JIM RISCH (R-Idaho) and JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) will introduce a bill today intended to help secure the energy sector against cyber threats, which skyrocketed in the past year, our friends over at Morning Cybersecurity (for Pros!) report. The Energy Threat Analysis Center Establishment Act would allow the Department of Energy to improve the sharing of cyber threat intelligence between the federal government and the private sector. The department’s Energy Threat Analysis Center could, for example, facilitate information from DOE, CISA and the intelligence community to groups in the energy sector. Risch stressed in a statement that “with cyberattacks on the rise, we need to closely monitor vulnerabilities in America’s energy sector,” and that the bill would allow the DOE center to “serve as the energy sector’s epicenter for information sharing surrounding cyber threats and mitigation measures.”
| | | SLOVAKIA’S HELICOPTER OFFER: The U.S. offered to sell Slovakia a dozen new helicopters at a steep discount after the country sent its retired MiG fighter jets to Ukraine, Defense Minister JAROSLAV NAD said in a Facebook post. Slovakia has yet to approve the deal, which would allow the nation to purchase the Bell AH-1Z Viper helicopters for about $340 million over three to four years. The package is worth more than $1 billion, with the difference covered by the U.S. Foreign Military Financing program. The deal would be “hugely advantageous” to Slovakia, Nad said, as it includes parts, training and some 500 AGM-114 Hellfire II missiles. The country currently has no combat helicopters. UNMET PRIORITIES: U.S. Northern, Southern and European Commands sent lawmakers wish lists containing $813 million in top priorities that weren’t funded, including millions in domain awareness projects, Lee reports (for Pros!). NORTHCOM is requesting $376 million for 10 projects. The bulk of the funds, $211 million, would go toward long-range radars to replace 1980s equipment that would improve the ability to track airborne objects, referred to as “domain awareness.” Gen. GLEN VANHERCK, the head of NORTHCOM, said last month that "domain awareness gaps" were the reason several spy balloons have flown in or near U.S. airspace undetected. Similarly, SOUTHCOM is requesting $278 million for over 20 projects in its wish list. These include $28 million to fill an intelligence gap caused by the command no longer having access to P-8A Poseidons and $14.9 million to develop a sensor to detect materials used in narcotics production. Other domain awareness projects include $42 million for technology for Paraguay and $43 million to track illegal fishing in the Andean Ridge. Meanwhile, EUCOM has submitted a small list totaling $159 million for air base air defense and communications infrastructure.
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | | | | RECORDS REVEALED: Two more GOP congressional candidates were identified as part of the Air Force’s improper release of military records to a Democratic-aligned research firm during the 2022 campaign cycle, our own OLIVIA BEAVERS reports. In a letter dated Friday, the Air Force told House Armed Services Chair MIKE ROGERS (R-Ala.) and Oversight Chair JAMES COMER (R-Ky.) that an audit by its personnel center found nine people’s records were “released without authority” to the firm Democrat-aligned Due Diligence Group in the last two years. Seven of those records disclosures affected GOP candidates for office in 2022, according to the letter. Five of those Republicans are already known, and two have not been confirmed until now: J.R. MAJEWSKI, a MAGA-friendly Ohio candidate who faced campaign-trail scrutiny for misrepresenting his military record, and ROBERT “ELI” BREMER, who lost in last year’s GOP primary race to take on Sen. MICHAEL BENNET (D-Colo.).
| | | POWER PLAY: More than 50 former high-ranking Pentagon officials and natsec leaders sent an open letter to the Senate expressing their frustration with the time it’s taking to confirm two key Pentagon nominees focused on acquisition and industry. The letter, shared with Connor and PAUL McLEARY (for Pros!), states that “despite no objections to these nominees, no concerns regarding their qualifications for the roles, and no concerns related to the responsibilities inherent in the roles they have been nominated to fill, several months later, they are still awaiting confirmation.” At question are the nominations of RADHA PLUMB to become the Pentagon’s second-highest ranking acquisition official, and LAURA TAYLOR-KALE to run industrial base policy. They’ve been stalled since July, when both were successfully voted out of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Since then, a mix of partisan politics and parochial interests unrelated to the jobs they were nominated to fill have kept them in limbo.
| | | |   | | | | | | — Lt. Gen. JOHN SHAW, U.S. Space Command deputy chief, has joined Dauntless’ editorial board. — Rapid7 has appointed JAYA BALOO as its next chief security officer. Before joining the software company, Baloo was chief information security officer at Avast.
| | | — DAVID IGNATIUS, The Washington Post: Here’s the real lesson from the showy Xi-Putin meeting — DAN CALDWELL, Foreign Affairs: The Case for a Restrained Republican Foreign Policy — TRITA PARSI, The New York Times: The U.S. Is Not an Indispensable Peacemaker
| | | — The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 9 a.m.: Innovation for Resilience — U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, 9 a.m.: China's Global Influence and Interference Activities — The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 9:30 a.m.: U.S. Missile Defense and Extended Deterrence — House Armed Services Committee, 10 a.m.: U.S. Military Posture and National Security Challenges in the Greater Middle East and Africa — House Science, Space and Technology Committee, 10 a.m.: Advanced Air Mobility: The Future of Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Beyond — The Heritage Foundation, 10 a.m.: RONALD REAGAN's Strategic Defense Initiative, 40 Years Later — The Center for Strategic and International Studies, 2 p.m.: Innovation and Leadership in Defense and Security — The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2 p.m.: U.S. Foreign Policy Today — The Hill, 2 p.m.: The Future of Defense: The Next Frontier for Military Flight — House Foreign Affairs Indo-Pacific Subcommittee, 2 p.m.: Renewed U.S. Engagement in the Pacific: Assessing the importance of the Pacific Islands — House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, 3 p.m.: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: Impacts to the Department of Defense and the Armed Services — The Jewish Institute for National Security of America, 3 p.m.: How to Save the Collapsing Sanctions on Iran Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who wants a nationwide ban on our writing. We also thank our producer, Jeffrey Horst, who thinks of NatSec Daily as a “sunny corner of the internet.”
| | A message from Lockheed Martin: Innovating at hypersonic speed.
Lockheed Martin is innovating with urgency to solve today’s hypersonic strike and defense challenges. We’re investing in the American hypersonic workforce and supplier base, to ensure our customers stay ready for what’s ahead. Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |  |
