Overnight Defense: Afghan war critic who said Europe too welcoming to ‘Muslim invaders’ installed at Pentagon | Trump, Biden mark Veterans Day with wreath layings | Senate Dems warn against nixing plan to change Confederate base names

Happy Wednesday and welcome to Overnight Defense. I’m Rebecca Kheel, and here’s your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. CLICK HERE to subscribe to the newsletter.

THE TOPLINE: The shakeup at the Pentagon continued Wednesday, this time with a controversial new hire.

The Pentagon confirmed Wednesday that new acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller has hired as a senior advisor retired Army Col. Douglas Macgregor, a critic of the war in Afghanistan whose nomination for an ambassador post stalled over past Islamophobic and anti-immigrant comments.

Macgregor “will be serving as a Senior Advisor to the Acting Secretary of Defense. Mr. MacGregor’s decades of military experience will be used to assist in the continued implementation of the President’s national security priorities,” a Pentagon spokesperson told The Hill.

The hire was first reported by Axios.

Macgregor’s stalled nomination: President Trump nominated Macgregor, a frequent Fox News contributor, to be U.S. ambassador to Germany in July. But his nomination stalled in the Senate after CNN resurfaced several inflammatory remarks.

Macgregor has said the European Union and Germany are too welcoming to “unwanted Muslim invaders,” and that Muslim immigrants enter “with the goal of eventually turning Europe into an Islamic state.”

Macgregor has also advocated for martial law at the U.S.-Mexico border, saying to “shoot people” if necessary.

Macgregor on Afghanistan: Macgregor’s hire is being seen as a sign the administration is working to accelerate troop withdrawals in the final months of Trump’s presidency, particularly from Afghanistan.

Macgregor has repeatedly advocated for the United States to pull its forces from conflicts in the Middle East.

In a January interview with Fox News’s Tucker Carlson, MacGregor said only Trump could end the war in Afghanistan.

“He’s promised to do that a long time ago and he’s disappointed a lot of us because he hasn’t. He can stand up tomorrow and pull us out. But he needs to send everyone out of the Oval Office who keeps telling him ‘if you do that and something bad happens, it’s going to be blamed on you, Mr. President.’ He needs to say, ‘I don’t give a damn,’ ” MacGregor said at the time.

TRUMP, BIDEN MARK VETERANS DAY: Apart from the Macgregor news, Wednesday was relatively quiet as Americans paused to mark Veterans Day.

Trump observed the day with a trip to Arlington National Cemetery in the morning, his first official appearance since losing the presidential race to Joe Biden.

Trump attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier along with first lady Melania Trump, Vice President Pence and second lady Karen Pence.

The band played the national anthem as the president and first lady arrived at Arlington, where it was raining. Trump, wearing a blue tie, saluted and stood in silence in front of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, before approaching the wreath and briefly touching it.

His appearance at the military cemetery lasted less than 10 minutes. It was the only public engagement on his schedule for Wednesday.

Trump also issued a proclamation recognizing Veterans Day, honoring service members for displaying “courage and fortitude in the face of adversity” and touting his administration’s efforts to improve veterans’ lives.

Biden in Philadelphia: Biden and his wife Jill, meanwhile, marked Veterans Day by laying a wreath at the Korean War Memorial in Philadelphia.

The Bidens were joined by Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D) in front of the black marble memorial.

“Today, we honor the service of those who have worn the uniform of the Armed Forces of the United States,” Biden, whose two sons both served in the military, wrote in a tweet.

A crowd of nearly 100 people stood nearby while the Biden family visited the memorial, with occasional applause and cheers being heard.

Philadelphia Judge Patrick Dugan oversaw the 15-minute stop at the memorial, as Biden placed three wreaths and flowers.

DEMS PUSH FOR CONFEDERATE BASE NAME CHANGES: The annual defense policy bill is expected to enter formal negotiations as soon as next week.

Ahead of that, on Wednesday, dozens of Senate Democrats urged top negotiators to keep in the final agreement a plan requiring that Confederate-named bases be renamed.

“We strongly oppose removing this provision and respectfully request the conferees to retain in the conference report the provision endorsed by both chambers: a requirement for the Department to rename all military assets named for the Confederacy no later than three years after the date of enactment,” the 37 senators wrote in a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees.

The Democratic senators, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) added it was “long past the time to correct this longstanding, historic injustice.”

“Millions of servicemembers of color have lived on, trained at, and deployed from installations named to honor traitors that killed Americans in defense of chattel slavery. Renaming these bases does not disrespect our military – it honors the sacrifices and contributions of our service members in a way that better reflects our nation’s diversity and values. We know who these bases were named for and why they were named,” they wrote.

Reminder: Language requiring that Confederate-named bases and other military installations be changed is one of the largest sticking points for getting an agreement on a final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Both chambers passed their initial versions of the bill earlier this year that requires the change, sparking a veto threat from Trump. 

The House bill requires the names to be changed in one year. The Senate bill gives three years before the names have to be changed. Warren was the sponsor of the language in the Senate bill.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) has vowed to remove the language, but it’s difficult to remove something during conference negotiations that was in both bills.

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW

Katie Arrington, chief information security officer in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, will speak at the Intelligence and National Security Alliance’s ‘Coffee and Conversation” virtual event at 9 a.m. https://bit.ly/36rCJzh

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles “C.Q.” Brown will hosts a vice chief of staff promotion ceremony for Lt. Gen. David Allvin at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling at 10 a.m. https://bit.ly/35jJR1l

ICYMI

— The Hill: Biden faces key challenges in bringing US back to global stage

— The Hill: Markey reiterates calls for nuclear no-first-use policy amid Pentagon shake-up

— The Hill: South Korea urging Biden to prioritize denuclearization talks with North

— The Hill: Opinion: ‘Thank you for your service’: The meaning of Veterans Day, for them and for us

— New York Times: He sidestepped Pompeo and got slapped down. Now he’s the new Pentagon chief.

— Reuters: Iran finishes moving first batch of advanced centrifuges underground

— Washington Post: Iraq War soldier Alwyn Cashe set to receive Medal of Honor after Senate passage of legislation

— McClatchy: Biden suspects toxic exposure in Iraq killed Beau. He has a plan for ill veterans