Overnight Defense: Speculation grows over Trump national security picks

TOPLINE: Speculation over who may fill the top posts at the Pentagon and State Department in a Donald Trump administration is heading into overdrive. 

The leading candidate for Defense Secretary is Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), according to some Hill sources, but the senator received some pushback from critics on Tuesday. 

But a top Trump ally in Congress defended Sessions, saying he would “root out all the B.S.” at the Pentagon. 

{mosads}”He’s a guy who not only knows the defense-side of stuff, but he can root out all the B.S. that the Pentagon has become and has infested the Pentagon right now,” Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), a former Marine and member of the House Armed Services Committee, told The Hill’s Kristina Wong. 

To read more about that interview, click here. 

Meanwhile for secretary of State, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton have emerged as leading contenders. 

But a prominent Republican is leading the charge against Bolton.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blasted Bolton in an op-ed Tuesday, calling him “a longtime member of the failed Washington elite that Trump vowed to oppose.” The Hill’s Alex Bolton has more about Paul’s opposition here. 

The Hill’s Jonathan Swan and Peter Schroeder have more here on how the other cabinet posts are shaping up.

MCCAIN WARNS AGAINST RUSSIAN ‘RESET’: Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Tuesday warned against a new Russian “reset,” after a chummy phone call between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We should place as much faith in such statements as any other made by a former KGB agent who has plunged his country into tyranny, murdered his political opponents, invaded his neighbors, threatened America’s allies, and attempted to undermine America’s elections,” McCain said in a statement. 

McCain, who is one of the leading foreign policy hawks in the Senate and often sparred with Trump, said a reset would be a huge mistake. The Hill’s Kristina Wong has more here. 

HOW TRUMP’S WIN MAY AFFECT BERGDAHL: Lawyers for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl plan to ask for his desertion case to be tossed out once President-elect Donald Trump takes over as commander in chief.

Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl’s lead lawyer, on Tuesday said he’ll file a motion in January to get the case dismissed, arguing Trump’s comments about his client compromise the right to a fair trial and impartial jury.

“It’s a fair trial issue,” Fidell said. “And it’s one that’s without precedent in American military history.”

Over the course of the campaign, Trump called Bergdahl a traitor who “should have been executed.” The Hill’s Rebecca Kheel has the story here. 

TRUMP WANTS SON-IN-LAW IN BRIEFINGS: Donald Trump reportedly wants his son-in-law Jared Kushner to be allowed to sit in on his daily presidential briefings, according to a report from NBC News.

But anti-nepotism laws could keep Kushner, the husband of Trump daughter Ivanka Trump from an official federal job.

The Hill’s Rebecca Savransky has more here.

HOUSE VOTES TO EXTEND IRAN SANCTIONS: The House approved legislation on Tuesday to renew sanctions against Iran for another decade, The Hill’s Cristina Marcos reports.

Lawmakers overwhelmingly backed a bill to extend the banking, defense and energy sanctions by a vote of 419-1. Current sanctions are set to expire at the end of this year.

Libertarian Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) was the only member to vote against the measure.

The international accord reached by the U.S., Iran and other countries last year agrees to lift certain sanctions in exchange for limits on the country’s nuclear program. 

Lawmakers said extending the sanctions that have been in place for the last 10 years would ensure the U.S. has a backup plan to hold Iran accountable if it violates the nuclear deal.

For more, click here.

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW: 

Heritage will be releasing the 2017 Index on Wednesday at 9 a.m., in a public briefing at their headquarters in Washington, D.C. Members of the public can RSVP for this event here.

From Heritage: “As the new administration and Congress are settling in, one of their first priorities must be national defense…This year’s report includes numerous, troubling findings about the declining state of American military might and the rise of major powers able to threaten U.S. interests and America itself, both in terms of intent and ability.” 

Also, the Stimson Center hosts a panel discussion at 9:45 a.m.-11:15 a.m. headlined “Maximizing the Opening with Iran: How President Trump Can Secure American Interests in the Middle East.” 

Speaking will be Boston University’s Andrew Bacevich, the University of Chicago’s John Mearsheimer, NIAC Research Director Reza Marashi, and ICAN Executive Director Sanam Anderlini. Steve Clemons of The Atlantic will moderate the conversation. Details here. 

ICYMI: 

— The Hill: US may face investigation for war crimes in Afghanistan

— Military Times: Sen. Graham: I can work with Trump on defense

— WaPo: Trump faces growing tension with key GOPs over national security 

— Reuters: U.S. President-elect Trump could return Iraq war boosters to power

— Wall Street Journal: Boeing to cut defense jobs