 Defense &
National Security |
Defense &
National Security |
|
|
Another US aircraft carrier heads to the Middle East |
The U.S. is sending the world's largest aircraft carrier to the Middle East as tensions between Washington and Tehran ratchet up. |
© Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ridge Leoni/U.S. Navy via AP |
The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its escort ships will join the USS Abraham Lincoln and its strike group already positioned in the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) area. The Gerald R. Ford is currently in the Caribbean but is being sent to the Middle East as the Trump administration beefs up its military presence near Iran, President Trump confirmed Friday. The president told reporters he dispatched the warship "in case we don't make a deal, we'll need it." Centcom referred The Hill to the Pentagon, which declined to comment. The U.S. Navy referred The Hill to U.S. Southern Command (Southcom). "While force posture evolves, our operational capability does not. SOUTHCOM forces remain fully ready to project power, defend themselves, and protect U.S. interests in the region," a Southcom spokesperson said Friday in a statement to The Hill. "At the direction of the President and the Secretary of War, we continue mission-focused operations to counter illicit activities and malign actors in the Western Hemisphere." Earlier this week, Trump indicated that he was considering sending another aircraft carrier to the Middle East as he threatened to authorize strikes against Iran. "We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going," the president said in a Tuesday interview with Axios. Read the full report at thehill.com. |
Welcome to The Hill's Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. |
|
|
How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
the future: |
|
|
President Trump went after former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), who’s running for Senate, and hyped up his opponent, Republican Michael Whatley, during his Friday speech at the Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina. "We want to keep this area safe, and we can’t do that without the leaders. And your ex-governor is not one of them. Would be a disaster if he got in one of the things that I just mentioned … |
| |
|
The U.S. military completed the transfer of thousands of low-level ISIS prisoners from detention in Syria to Iraq, completing the effort that began last month at the request of Baghdad. The transfer operation, which began Jan. 21, saw the U.S. Central Command (Centcom) forces move male ISIS fighters from detention facilities in northeastern Syria to Iraqi custody ... |
| |
|
Senators left Washington this week without a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), sending the federal government barreling toward another partial shutdown as funding for the department expires at the end of Friday. Senate Democrats have pushed for reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but negotiations with the White House over the past couple weeks have failed to yield a compromise that Democrats … |
| |
|
The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) surprise closure and quick reopening of airspace over El Paso, Texas, is fueling questions from the public and sharp rebukes from lawmakers. Trump administration officials initially contended the move came in response to the incursion of Mexican drug cartel drones. However, the closure of airspace — initially set to last 10 days, but lifted after eight hours — reportedly … |
| |
|
Upcoming things we're watching on our beat: |
- Georgetown University's Initiative for U.S.-China Dialogue on Global Issues will host a discussion on "Chinese and Latin American responses to the U.S. intervention in Venezuela," at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
- The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold a hearing on "India, China, and the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific," Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
- The Hudson Institute will discuss the end of the New START treaty at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.
- The Atlantic Council will host a conversation on "Turkey's evolving role in a new geopolitical security order," Tuesday at 10 a.m.
|
|
|
Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
|
|
Democrats launch investigation into DOJ tracking of lawmakers' Epstein files searches |
House Judiciary Committee and Oversight Committee Democrats launched a joint investigation into the Justice Department on Friday after Attorney General Pam Bondi was spotted reviewing a summary of a lawmaker's searches of the unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files. The letter demands the Department of … |
|
|
News we've flagged from other outlets: |
- Ukraine says U.S. is increasing pressure for a deal as the midterms loom (The New York Times)
- Kelly expects Trump to come after him again (Politico)
|
|
|
Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
|
|
Some have started to describe a combination of CHS's symptoms as "scromiting." Read more |
| A coalition of more than 50 leaders of conservative and free-market organizations signed a letter to members of Congress on Thursday, opposing codifying … Read more |
|
|
Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill: |
|
|
You're all caught up. See you next week! |
400 N. Capitol St. NW Suite 950, Washington, DC 20001 |
Copyright © 1998 - 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. |
|
|
|
If you believe this has been sent to you in error, please safely unsubscribe.
No comments:
Post a Comment