Defense & National Security — Speaker fight leads to national security concerns

by Ellen Mitchell - 01/05/23 7:18 PM ET

As lawmakers failed to elect a Speaker of the House for the third straight day, the State Department and lawmakers alike warned that it may compound concerns on Capitol Hill over the ability of lawmakers to carry out their duties related to national security and foreign policy.

We’ll share more of what the Biden administration and some members of the House warned, plus the details of the armored fighting vehicles soon to head to Ukraine and Russia’s proposed ceasefire that the West isn’t buying.

This is Defense & National Security, your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, I’m Ellen Mitchell. A friend forward this newsletter to you?

State Dept: Speaker fight a national security concern

The State Department on Thursday said that inconclusive elections for Speaker of the House are likely to compound concerns on Capitol Hill over the ability of lawmakers to carry out their duties related to national security and foreign policy.

The absence of a Speaker of the House — with House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy losing 10 rounds of votes for Speaker — has left lawmakers and members-elect without the credentials to attend briefings or meetings on sensitive and classified information with administration officials.

Compounded: State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Thursday that lawmakers’ concerns “will be compounded” the longer the House remains without an elected Speaker — necessary to swear in members and authorize committee formations that allow them to participate in foreign policy and national security tasks.

“Well, of course, over time, those concerns, concerns on the part of the members themselves and the members-elect themselves, will be compounded,” Price said.

No clear path: The spokesperson continued that it is “much more difficult” for the State Department to take “into account the prerogatives and the perspectives of members of both chambers of Congress” when there is not a seated House of Representatives.

“But this is the process. The process is playing out. And I expect, we can all expect at some point, before too long, the process will conclude.”

Read that story here

SPEAKER DELAY HALTS NATIONAL SECURITY BRIEFINGS

The disorder in the House is leaving lawmakers fuming over their inability to stay apprised on national security matters, as it is blocking them from entering classified briefings or meeting with top officials.

Lawmakers say they can’t even go into a special room known as the sensitive compartmented information facility, or SCIF, where they discuss top-secret information with national security officials.

No entry: Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) said he was blocked from entering the SCIF by security as he arrived for a meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff on “matters in the Indo-Pacific.”

“I’m informed by House security that technically, I don’t have a clearance. I’m a member of the Intel Committee. I’m on the Armed Services Committee, and I can’t meet in the SCIF to conduct essential business. My point is we have work to do that we can’t do right now,” he said at a press conference alongside other Republicans pleading for a quick resolution to Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) quest for the gavel.

Complaints: Incoming chairs for the House intelligence, Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees complained the delay is hindering their oversight of the Biden administration — a top priority for the GOP majority.

“There is no oversight of the White House, State Department, Department of Defense, or the intelligence community. We cannot let personal politics place the safety and security of the United States at risk,” Reps. Michael Turner (Ohio), Mike Rogers (Ala.) and Michael McCaul (Texas) said in a statement.

Some background: Lawmakers don’t directly hold security clearances but are deemed trustworthy for receiving such information simply by the office they hold.

Other briefings are restricted by committee membership — and the committees cannot be formally comprised until a Speaker is elected.

A GOP staffer told The Hill that staff who receive security clearances due to the nature of their work are still able to access the SCIF and receive briefings, even as lawmakers cannot.

Read the full story here

US, Germany give more fighting vehicles to Ukraine

The United States and Germany have agreed to send additional fighting vehicles to Ukraine, a decision that could mean Kyiv getting more powerful Western tanks in its fight against Russia.

The deal, which was cemented after President Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke by phone Wednesday, means Washington with send the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, and Germany intends to provide Ukraine with Marder Infantry Fighting Vehicles, the White House announced in a Thursday release.

From the Pentagon: The Bradleys will be included as part of “another round of security assistance for Ukraine” anticipated on Friday, the Pentagon’s top spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters later on Thursday.

More about the Bradley: The Army’s primary infantry fighting vehicle, the Bradley is a powerful armored and tracked vehicle that carries a turret-mounted machine gun. Made by BAE Systems, the vehicle has been called a “tank killer,” capable of destroying any other vehicle on the battlefield with its heavy firepower.

The vehicles will likely boost Ukraine’s battle abilities, as they are lighter and more agile than the Soviet-era tanks Ukraine has, which also includes those given by European countries after Russia first attacked on Feb. 24.

Earlier: The decision by the United States and Germany follows France’s Wednesday announcement that it will send Ukraine its own light battle tanks, the AMX-10 RC armored fighting vehicle, becoming the first nation to arm the embattled country with the Western-style fighting vehicles.

Thanks but please send tanks: But President Volodymyr Zelensky, who on Wednesday thanked France for the contribution, still urged the West to send its tanks, such as the Abrams or Leopard, and other heavy weapons.

“There is no rational reason why Ukraine has not yet been supplied with Western tanks,” Zelensky said.

A boost: The United States has already given Ukraine more than 2,000 combat vehicles, including Humvees and Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles. The addition of the Bradley, however, will boost Kyiv’s battle abilities as it plans a renewed spring offensive in the east.

Read the rest here

Biden: Putin looking for ‘oxygen’ with brief cease-fire

President Biden said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s call for a temporary, Christmas cease-fire is an effort to “find some oxygen,” dismissing that the Kremlin is serious about finding an off ramp for its assault against Ukraine.

The president said he was “reluctant to respond to anything Putin says,” but characterized the Kremlin as cynically attacking civilians over the December holidays.

“He was ready to bomb hospitals and nurseries and churches on the 25th and New Years — I mean, I think he’s trying to find some oxygen,” Biden said.

A ‘cynical ploy’: State Department spokesperson Ned Price expanded on Biden’s remarks, saying the administration views Russia’s call for a cease-fire as a “cynical ploy … to rest, to refit, to regroup, and ultimately to reattack, to reattack with potentially even more vengeance, even more brutality, even more lethality, if they had their way.”

Price further said that the administration has not seen any indication that Russia was open to negotiations or any diplomacy.

And an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, also said Putin’s call for a Christmas truce “is a cynical trap and an element of propaganda.”

The supposed ceasfire: In a statement posted to the Kremlin’s website, Putin said he would implement a 36-hour cease-fire to occur on Orthodox Christmas, from noon on Friday and through Saturday, and called on Kyiv to do the same.

“Based on the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the combat areas, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a cease-fire and give them the opportunity to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on the Day of the Nativity of Christ,” Putin’s order, published on the Kremlin’s website, reads.

Putin called for the cease-fire “along the entire line of contact between the parties in Ukraine.”

Dialogue demands: Ahead of the cease-fire statement, Putin spoke by phone with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, calling for Kyiv to answer its demands as a condition for dialogue, per a statement published by the Kremlin.

“Vladimir Putin again reaffirmed that Russia is open to a serious dialogue – under the condition that the Kiev authorities meet the clear demands that have been repeatedly laid out, and recognise the new territorial realities,” the statement read.

Read that story here

ON TAP TOMORROW

The Wilson Center will hold a preview of the Tenth North American Leaders’ Summit at 3:30 p.m.

WHAT WE’RE READING

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