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From the SitRoom to the E-Ring, the inside scoop on defense, national security and foreign policy. | | | | |  | | By Alexander Ward, Lara Seligman, Matt Berg and Eric Bazail-Eimil | |  Nothing NatSec Daily has heard suggests there’s a rift between President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. | AP | With help from Nahal Toosi Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt Twice in a five-day period, President JOE BIDEN has acted against Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN’s advice. Late last week, Biden nominated Adm. LISA FRANCHETTI as the Navy’s next boss, putting the service’s current No. 2 on the cusp of becoming the first woman ever in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But Austin wanted Adm. SAMUEL PAPARO, who leads the U.S. Pacific Fleet, in the top job –– a position the president knew when they debated where to place both officers during a recent Oval Office meeting. Then on Wednesday, news broke that the president ordered his team to share evidence of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court. The decision not only shifted years of U.S. policy toward the tribunal, but also went against months of fierce — and public — resistance from Austin. The Pentagon feared America’s involvement in a case where the ICC will investigate the actions of Russian troops could pave the way for probes into the conduct of U.S. service members in war. It’s unclear what led Biden to go against the defense chief on both occasions. But those decisions, along with the president’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan — despite the military’s recommendation otherwise — shows Biden doesn’t mind going against DOD in high-profile situations. But nothing NatSec Daily has heard suggests there’s a rift between Biden and Austin. By all accounts, the two have a warm working and personal relationship, very unlike past White Houses and Pentagons. Austin retains the president’s confidence and Biden has heeded his advice countless times over two and a half years, not least in how to bolster Ukraine’s defenses against Russia and when to deliver sophisticated weapons to shape the battlefield. Many senior administration officials insist Kyiv would be less equipped today if Austin hadn’t personally called allies, coaxing them to deliver weapons. "It’s hard to think of a relationship between a president and a secretary of Defense built on a stronger foundation of trust and respect. President Biden takes Lloyd Austin’s advice on literally a daily basis,” national security adviser JAKE SULLIVAN told NatSec Daily. While Austin has publicly expressed his apprehension about the precedent set by sharing evidence with the court in this case, he “fully supports” the president’s decision, said a Defense Department official, who like others was granted anonymity to speak about sensitive internal dynamics, adding that the two have “regular” meetings. The best explanation NatSec Daily heard for DOD’s recent losses is that Biden trusts Austin to handle anything firmly in the Pentagon’s purview. But when it comes to a major decision that requires the input of other agencies and principals, Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN and Sullivan — longtime confidants of the president –– can sometimes sway discussions their way. What’s more, Biden has been in the political arena for five decades. He doesn’t feel the need to prove himself by siding with the Pentagon all the time. “The president has a lot of respect for Austin, trusts him, listens to him and defers to counsel on many issues. But the president also has the experience and standing to be confident when he has views on a specific matter,” said a senior administration official. Austin also has done well to maintain strong ties with Biden despite the president’s open skepticism of the defense establishment. The secretary rarely airs policy battles in the press or knife fights internally –– and shies away from the spotlight whenever possible. “He is the ultimate team player,” said a second senior DOD official. “He doesn’t leak, he doesn’t take his case public.” After Biden chose to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, for example, Austin’s messaging was clear: the military and its leadership would follow orders. “Now that the decision has been made, I call upon them to lead their forces…through this effort, through this transition,” he said during an April 2021 news conference alongside Blinken and NATO Secretary General JENS STOLTENBERG.
| | 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. | | | | | UKRAINE ATTACKS ‘INTENSIFIED’: Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN said Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the country’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region has “intensified significantly” the AP’s HANNA ARHIROVA reports, as Ukrainian forces appear to have broken through Russian defensive positions in some areas. And as efforts to retake territory continue, Kyiv is starting to send thousands of well-trained reinforcements to the front lines, three DOD officials tell our own LARA SELIGMAN. U.S. officials believe Ukraine is trying to exploit gains made by its 9th Corps on Russia’s main line of defense south of the town of Orikhiv in western Zaporizhzhia. As soldiers from the 9th Corps move forward, Ukraine is sending in fresh troops from its 10th Corps, which includes multiple brigades trained and equipped by the West, in an attempt to break through entrenched Russian positions, one of the DOD officials said. Once Ukrainian troops can break through those heavily mined defensive positions, the thinking is they will be able to retake ground much more quickly, the official said. Ukrainian forces “still have a number of options available to them, and we can expect that they’ll continue to press,” SecDef Austin told reporters in Papua New Guinea today, per CNN. He didn’t provide many details other than that Ukraine has been “preserving manpower and equipment.” NIGER COUP: Niger’s military announced late Wednesday that it is supporting the ouster of the country's president, MOHAMED BAZOUM, according to The New York Times’ OMAR HAMA SALEY, ELIAN PELTIER and DECLAN WALSH. The news followed reports that members of the presidential guard had detained Bazoum in the presidential palace in the country’s capital, Niamey. The coup is the sixth military takeover in West Africa in the last three years, as Niger joins its Sahel neighbors, Mali and Burkina Faso, in losing civilian rule. Bazoum, elected in Niger’s first-ever peaceful transition of power in 2021, is vowing to restore democracy and return the country to democracy quickly. As our own LAURA KAYALI reports, the military takeover in Niger is a major blow for Washington and Paris, given Niger’s status as one of their last stalwart allies in the contentious Sahel region. Following coups in Mali and Burkina Faso, France moved many of its military installations in the region to Niger. Thousands of French and American soldiers are also stationed in the country. The United States mission in Niger is shorthanded as the crisis unfolds, given that it hasn’t had an ambassador in Niger since late 2021. The nominee for the post, KATHLEEN FITZGIBBON, has been waiting nearly a year for Senate confirmation, according to the diplomats’ union’s ever-handy ambassador tracker. At present, the mission in Niamey is overseen by Chargé d’Affaires SUSAN N’GARNIM. State Department spokesperson MATTHEW MILLER blamed FitzGibbon’s situation on Sen. RAND PAUL (R-Ky.), who has placed a broad hold on State nominees until he is given more information about the origins of Covid. “We are making a big push to get these nominees out by the end of this week,” Miller added. ‘DOOR OPEN’ ON AUKUS: The “door is open” to New Zealand and other countries to join the security pact between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, Blinken also told reporters today. “On AUKUS as we continue to develop it … the door is very much open for New Zealand and other partners to engage as they see appropriate going forward,” Blinken said. “We've long worked together on the most important national security issues, and so as we further develop AUKUS, as I said, the door is open to engagement.” In a letter sent earlier today, 25 House and Senate Republicans said they want Biden to ask Congress for “generational investments” to build at least 2.5 Virginia-class attack submarines per year, which they say is needed to make the pact viable, our own JOE GOULD reports (for Pros!). As the U.S. works to bolster security in the Indo-Pacific, China offered to hold joint military drills with the Philippines, Reuters’ NEIL JEROME MORALES and KAREN LEMA report. Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief ROMEO BRAWNER appeared open to the idea: "We try to establish relations with armies, with armed forces around the world. This is one way for us to prevent war," he told reporters. MELONI MAGIC: Italian Prime Minister GIORGIA MELONI will no longer be painted as the Boogeywoman when she walks into the Oval Office today. “Gone is the ghoulish caricature of an extremist monster, sympathetic to Moscow, whose party was descended from fascists, and in her place stands a pragmatic conservative willing to do business with a grateful international mainstream. For Biden and Ukraine’s backers in the West, securing Meloni’s long-term commitment to the war effort is vital: Italy will assume the leadership of the G7 next year, at what’s likely to be a critical time in the conflict,” our own HANNAH ROBERTS, JONATHAN LEMIRE and ELI STOKOLS report. NatSec Daily is told that the administration wants two things from Meloni: to stay the course on Russia/Ukraine and to tilt further away from China. Meloni, meanwhile, knows that if she does these things, the U.S. and broader West won’t bash her for her harsh stances on LGBTQ rights and immigrants. One U.S. official told us the administration “has raised the issue of LGBTQ+ rights privately with the Meloni government before.” SULLIVAN IN SAUDI: The NSC confirmed that Sullivan is in Saudi Arabia, following a line to that effect in a column by the New York Times’ THOMAS FRIEDMAN. The national security adviser “is in Saudi Arabia to meet with Prime Minister and Crown Prince MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN to discuss bilateral and regional matters. That includes significant progress that’s been made in talks to build on the benefits of the truce in Yemen that have endured over the past 16 months as well as initiatives to advance a common vision for a more peaceful, secure, prosperous, and stable Middle East region,” a NSC spokesperson told NatSec Daily. Friedman’s column suggests that the U.S. is pushing harder to broker a normalization of relations deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia, as well as convincing Riyadh to fully end the war in Yemen. Axios’ BARAK RAVID reports that NSC Middle East lead BRETT McGURK and senior adviser AMOS HOCHSTEIN are also on the trip. 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, @PhelimKine, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @magmill95, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco, @reporterjoe, @JGedeon1 and @ebazaileimil.
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | | STOP TRADE WITH CHINA: GOP presidential candidate NIKKI HALEY called on the United States to pause “all normal trade relations” with China until the fentanyl crisis is solved. “Too many Americans are dying because Joe Biden won't confront China's role in the fentanyl pipeline. Here in New Hampshire, fatal drug overdoses are increasing faster than anywhere else in the country,” Haley tweeted during a stop in the key primary state. More than 100,000 Americans died from fentanyl overdoses over the past few years, and lawmakers have recently reupped calls to curb China’s role in producing the deadly synthetic version of the drug.
| | | NEW RULES: The Transportation Security Administration has announced a slate of new security requirements for critical pipeline companies, part of an ongoing effort to ensure key engines of the U.S. economy have adequate cyber defenses, our own JOHN SAKELLARIADIS reported late Wednesday (for Pros!). The rules include three key changes. They will now require oil and gas companies to seek TSA approval each year for their security roadmaps, conduct annual testing of their cyber incident response plans and provide annual assessments of the improvements they had in place the prior year. The mandates only apply to a subset of the country’s largest oil and natural gas pipelines, an estimated 100 companies. The updates, which were introduced Wednesday afternoon, build on an emergency security directive the TSA issued following a crippling ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline in May 2021.
| | | | HITTING YOUR INBOX AUGUST 14—CALIFORNIA CLIMATE: Climate change isn’t just about the weather. It's also about how we do business and create new policies, especially in California. So we have something cool for you: A brand-new California Climate newsletter. It's not just climate or science chat, it's your daily cheat sheet to understanding how the legislative landscape around climate change is shaking up industries across the Golden State. Cut through the jargon and get the latest developments in California as lawmakers and industry leaders adapt to the changing climate. Subscribe now to California Climate to keep up with the changes. | | | | | | | | BILL PASSED: The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved its $831 billion Pentagon funding bill in a wide bipartisan vote, endorsing billions of dollars in emergency cash to pad the defense budget, our own CONNOR O’BRIEN reports (for Pros!). In the process, Defense Appropriations Chair JON TESTER (D-Mont.) said he expects Biden to request even more money to help Ukraine before the summer is out. "I think we can anticipate a supplemental sometime this next month on Ukraine from the administration," Tester said. Tester's comments illustrate the bipartisan consensus in the Senate that more money will be needed soon for Ukraine and to soften spending limits imposed by the debt deal. "We're about to leave town and we haven't come up with a plan to keep funding Ukraine," said Sen. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-S.C.). "I hope when we get back we'll fix that." COAST GUARD CRUISIN’: A U.S. Coast Guard cutter will set sail in August to Papua New Guinea to help the country monitor illegal fishing and trafficking, Nikkei Asia’s RYO NAKAMURA and RURIKA IMAHASHI report. The assistance was announced during Austin’s trip to the island nation, as Washington attempts to bolster ties in the Indo-Pacific to counter Chinese influence.
| | THE FIGHT CONTINUES: Democratic senators spoke for more than five hours on the Senate floor Wednesday evening into Thursday morning, urging an end to Sen. TOMMY TUBERVILLE’s (R-Ala.) blockade on military nominations as he opposes the Pentagon’s abortion travel policy. The senators outlined the qualifications of each of the 273 nominees who have been stalled, with Senate Armed Services Chair JACK REED (D-R.I.) saying that “only willful ignorance or stubborn hubris could lead one to continue down this path.” Other senators who participated included TIM KAINE of Virginia, JEANNE SHAHEEN and MAGGIE HASSAN of New Hampshire, TAMMY DUCKWORTH of Illinois, MARK KELLY of Arizona, RICHARD BLUMENTHAL of Connecticut, PETER WELCH of Vermont, AMY KLOBUCHAR of Minnesota, and ELIZABETH WARREN of Massachusetts and ANGUS KING of Maine, an independent.
| | | RUSSIA-AFRICA SUMMIT FLOPS: Only 21 African heads of state attended the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg this week, less than half the number that attended the last session in 2019. The attendance figures are a disappointing showing for Putin, who was eager to use the venue to project strength and reset ties with the continent. In another blow to Putin, African leaders attending the summit, including the chair of the African Union, Comoros’ president AZALI ASSOUMANI, publicly called on Putin to reenter the Black Sea Grain Initiative, our own NICOLAS CAMUT reports. Prices for global foodstuffs have already climbed in the wake of Russia’s departure from the deal, sparking fears that some African countries could be driven into famine conditions this year if Ukrainian grain and fertilizer cannot reach the global market. But Putin declined, saying in St. Petersburg today that Moscow would move towards “a more just system of resource distribution," our own GABRIEL GAVIN reports One more thing. Among the Russians meeting with the delegations from various African countries in St. Petersburg — Wagner leader YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN. DON’T GO: Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY barred Ukrainian lawmakers and officials from leaving the country amid his attempts to crack down on corruption, Ukrainska Pravda’s ROMAN ROMANIUK and VALENTYNA ROMANENKO report. "All lawmakers and officials have indeed been banned from leaving Ukraine. People have lost touch with reality. The relevant authorities will now thoroughly check travel documents, invitations, travel arrangements and so on,” a person within the president office told the outlet. There have been talks about “particularly scandalous” lawmakers or officials receiving military draft notices, the person said. The ban follows a series of trips by lawmakers in which they visited luxury resorts on “business trips,” Ukrainska Pravda reports. Zelenskyy previously instituted a similar rule in January, barring officials from leaving the country unless on official business after several Ukrainian officials were accused of having bought military rations at inflated prices. It was not immediately clear when travel permissions had been restored, though the outlet reports that officials had traveled earlier in July.
| | | |   | | | | | — Canadian Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU tapped BILL BLAIR, a former police chief, to serve as the country’s new defense minister. Former Defense Minister ANITA ANAND will head Canada’s Treasury Board, a powerful but obscure department that acts as one of the nerve centers of government. — ETHAN ZINDLER has been named the Treasury Department’s new climate counselor. He most recently served as Head of Americas at BloombergNEF. — INE ERIKSEN SØREIDE, the former Norwegian minister of foreign affairs and defense minister, has joined Crisis Group’s board of trustees. — Biden nominated Lt. Gen. CHRISTOPHER MAHONEY to be the assistant Marine commandant. If confirmed, he would succeed Gen. ERIC SMITH. — MIKE ANDREWS, the former director of public affairs for Space Force’s Space Operations Command, is the director of public affairs at Air Forces Central.
| | — Sens. LINDSEY GRAHAM and ELIZABETH WARREN, The New York Times: When it comes to Big Tech, enough is enough — JAMIL JAFFER, The National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School: Addressing the national security threat of Chinese technological innovation — AARON MILES, War On The Rocks: Implications of China’s nuclear expansion for strategic stability
| | — The United States Institute of Peace, 10 a.m.: From monitoring to action: preventing atrocities in Sudan. — The Atlantic Council, 10 a.m.: Breaking the Black Sea blockade: how to counter Russia's war on Ukraine grain. — The Jewish Democratic Council of America, 1 p.m.: What comes next for Israel's democracy? Unpacking the judicial overhaul. — The Hudson Institute, 2 p.m.: Fighting into the bastions: the future of undersea warfare. Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, with whom we have a rancorous working and personal relationship (if you couldn’t tell from these sign offs). We also thank our producer, Gregory Svirnovskiy, who is the only person we want to work with forever and ever.
| | 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 | | | | |  |
