The Texas Republican, who supported Pentagon reform, bigger budgets, and Trump’s border wall, is joining several other conservatives is walking away from Capitol Hill.

Hell hath no fury like a lawmaker betrayed. This week, the House will take up the crucial National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress’ primary instrument to oversee the U.S. military. Though the NDAA has passed for 58 straight years, partisan political choices threaten to end that streak.     The Democratic House passed out of… Keep reading →

As the three most powerful civilians in the Army Department, Esper, McCarthy, and Jette have formed by all accounts a tight-knit and effective team. That’s particularly remarkable because they’ve had abundant opportunities for conflict as they turned the Army bureaucracy upside down.

“My integrity and belief in SCO’s mission is more important to me than my friendship over many years with Mike (Griffin).”

Despite Democratic chairman Adam Smith’s best efforts, the defense budget is likely to creep back up to the full $750 billion the administration asked for.

Democrats and Republicans sparred all night over nukes in the 2020 defense policy bill, but the Democrats had the votes. For now.

The House Armed Services Committee starts a marathon wrangle on the Pentagon budget, complete with dueling Dickens & Shakespeare quotes, with a detour to debate paint schemes for Air Force One and renaming a key intelligence position.

The top HASC Republican outlines some of the amendments he plans to add to the HASC 2020 defense policy bill, previewing coming debates with the Senate.

BOSTON: “It’s like running through a briar patch naked,” Will Roper said of trying to bring start-up companies into the service’s contracting model to keep apace of commercial innovation. “You have to be willing to bleed a little bit,” Roper, the Air Force’s top acquisition official told me in an interview last Thursday, after watching 10 newborn… Keep reading →

HASC Chairman Adam Smith issued a letter formally denying the request: “DoD is attempting to circumvent Congress and the American people’s opposition to using taxpayer money for the construction of an unnecessary wall, and the military is paying the cost.”