Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Marine General Mark Milley answers a question during a House Subcommittee on Defense hearing on Thursday, March 23, 2023 to discuss the President’s FY 2024 budget request for the Department of Defense.
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Defense & National Security
Defense & National Security
The Big Story
Austin, Milley push back against defense budget cuts
President Biden’s Defense secretary also raised the alarm on a recent meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said any defense budget cuts would have a serious impact on the U.S. military’s warfighting capability.
“We would have to cut a significant amount of programs,” Milley said while also voicing concerns about readiness and training.
“All of those things would come down, all your readiness levels, everything that has been achieved [in the last decade] would start going in the opposite direction,” the nation’s top general continued.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said defense cuts would impact cybersecurity and civilian personnel in the Pentagon.
“If we cut those kinds of people, I think it will have a significant impact on our war-fighting capability,” Austin said. “Cyber threats in this day and age are enormous and they come from every corner of the globe.”
Most Republicans remain opposed to defense spending cuts, but they have called for an end to “woke” programs in the military such as diversity training, despite those making up a small portion of the budget.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) agreed with more conservative lawmakers in January to cap all new discretionary spending at fiscal year 2022 levels.
It remains unclear where the GOP would make desired budget cuts, but defense spending could drop by billons of dollars if capped at 2022 levels.
Also at the hearing, Austin told Congress that the meeting this week between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Xinping “sends a very troubling message” to the world.
“Just showing support by his presence there, I think, is very troubling,” he said.
Xi concluded a three-day visit to Russia on Wednesday, a trip that China called a “journey of friendship, cooperation and peace.”
The U.S. remains concerned that Beijing will support Russia’s war in Ukraine with lethal aid.
Austin told Congress that if China decides to provide lethal support, it “would prolong the conflict.”
“And certainly broaden the conflict potentially — not only in the region, but globally,” he said.
Read more coverage of the DOD and defense budget at TheHill.com.
Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Brad Dress — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.
Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) criticized the Biden administration’s proposed defense budget, which increased spending by 3 percent, arguing more investment is needed to challenge the growing threat from China. “[The budget] falls far short of what we need to do to make sure we’re countering China,” he said on Thursday at The Hill’s The Future of Defense event. Biden’s defense budget has come under fire from a number of Republicans, …
Top Russian official Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday said that any attempt to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin would be considered a “declaration of war” against the country amid Moscow’s ongoing invasion of neighboring Ukraine.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Thursday praised Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for calling Russian President Vladimir Putin “a thug” and “a war criminal.”
The Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee displayed a subpoena to Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a Thursday hearing, demanding documents surrounding the chaotic and deadly U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.
The Senate continues debate over legislation to repeal war authorizations for the Gulf War and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
PresidentBiden is traveling to Ottawa, Canada, to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The Hill Event
The Future of Defense: The Next Frontier for Military Flight
While Congress debates President Biden’s 2024 budget, and the defense spending within it, The Hill brings together policymakers, Pentagon officials and experts on the defense industrial base for a discussion on the next frontier of military flight technology.
Senate Armed Services member Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), chair of the House Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, Istari founder & CEO Dr. Will Roper and John Venable, senior fellow for defense policy at The Heritage Foundation, join in conversation with The Hill’s Bob Cusack.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s offer to negotiate peace between Russia and Ukraine is a high-risk mission that looks to offer Beijing a most-valued prize — significant prestige and influence in its best efforts to challenge the U.S. as a global leader.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosts a hybrid conference at 9 a.m. ET to discuss missile defense strategy.
The CSIS will also chat with Reps. Jason Crow (D-Col.) and Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) on the defense industrial base during an online event beginning at 1:30 p.m.
The Wilson Center talks on oppression and violence in Venezuela for a hybrid event beginning at 9 a.m.
What We’re Reading
News we’ve flagged from other outlets:
U.S. to send aging attack planes to Mideast and shift newer jets to Asia, Europe (Wall Street Journal)
Norway watches warily as Russian subs and aircraft step up Arctic patrols (NBC News)
The Republican-led House on Thursday failed to override President Biden’s first veto, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to revive the … Read more
California lawmakers voted on Thursday to advance a bill that would penalize oil companies for “price gouging” — a first-of-its-kind legislation pushed … Read more
Opinions in The Hill
Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill:
