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 decision on whether to reinstate Capt. Brett Crozier as commander of the USS Theodore Roosevelt is going to take a bit longer.
The Navy announced Wednesday it would be opening a wider investigation into the situation on the Roosevelt after finishing what it has termed the “preliminary” investigation that reportedly concluded with recommending Crozier be reinstated.
“After carefully reviewing the preliminary inquiry into the events surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Mike Gilday, provided me with his recommendations,” acting Navy Secretary James McPherson said in a statement Wednesday. “Following our discussion, I have unanswered questions that the preliminary inquiry has identified and that can only be answered by a deeper review.
“Therefore, I am directing Adm. Gilday to conduct a follow-on command investigation,” he added. “This investigation will build on the good work of the initial inquiry to provide a more fulsome understanding of the sequence of events, actions and decisions of the chain of command surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt.”
Reaction: House Armed Services Committee Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who called for Crozier to be reinstated last week, said Wednesday he thinks it’s appropriate for the Navy to expand its investigation into what happened on the Roosevelt, but that there’s no reason Crozier shouldn’t be reinstated now.
“I do think it’s perfectly legitimate to extend the investigation about everything that happened with the Roosevelt,” Smith told reporters after being briefed by McPherson on his decision.
“I think a forensic analysis of that is enormously important, and I completely agree that that’s not something that you can get done in a week or two weeks or whatever it’s been,” Smith continued. “However, on the question of whether or not Capt. Crozier is the right person to continue the command that they gave him in the first place, I believe that question should have been clearly answered to this point, and I think it should be answered in the affirmative.”
In his own statement after being briefed by McPherson, Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the follow-on investigation should be “thorough and expeditious.”
“I reiterated that the removal of Captain Crozier was highly unorthodox and the recommendations of the military leadership on his reinstatement should be heavily weighed,” Reed said. “I share the frustrations of the American people, the crewmembers of the Roosevelt and the entire United States Navy. We all want this matter resolved in a just and timely manner based on the facts.”
But what does Trump think?: Asked what he’d advise Defense Secretary Mark Esper to do, President Trump said he didn’t want to comment, but added, “but I have my feelings on it.”
“They were under a lot of pressure because it went very public, and so they’ll be seeing me at a certain point,” Trump added.
Trump also reiterated that he thinks Crozier is “a very, very good man who had a very bad day and then he wanted to be Ernest Hemingway.”
“He starts writing long memos. You can’t do that when you’re a captain of a ship, especially that ship,” Trump said. “With that being said, I said, he had a bad day. We all have bad days.”
All aboard: Meanwhile, in Guam, sailors taken off the Roosevelt to quarantine have begun to return to the ship.
The Navy’s Joint Marianas Region said in a news release that the ship, having been deep cleaned by the 700 crew members who stayed aboard, is now ready to receive sailors who have been in quarantine for up to 27 days.
The sailors coming back have taken a total of three tests, according to the release: one to determine they were coronavirus-negative to be eligible to stay in Guam hotels and two to ensure they were still coronavirus-free.
In other coronavirus news…
Pentagon totals: The Pentagon reported a total of 6,754 coronavirus cases as of Wednesday.
That includes 4,359 members of the military, including 98 who have been hospitalized.
The death toll has not increased in the last couple days, standing at 27 Pentagon-wide.
Smith shoots down defense industry funding: In his conversation with reporters, Smith said he would not support funding to boost the defense industry in further coronavirus stimulus packages.
The third coronavirus relief bill, known as the CARES Act, allowed the Pentagon to reimburse defense contractors for delays caused by the pandemic, and defense officials have said they expect to request billions of dollars in the next bill to pay for that authority.
But Smith said he thinks the Pentagon can reimburse contractors with existing funding.
“I don’t think there’s a need to send the Pentagon more money to do it,” Smith told reporters on a teleconference Wednesday.
“There are plenty of places within the Pentagon, particularly in light of the slowdown, in light of the fact that there is going to be a record amount of unexecuted money within [the Department of Defense (DOD)] because of how everything is slowing down. Well, take some of that unexecuted money and use that to pay it forward,” he added. “I’m not saying that I’m not convinced that there aren’t places within the broad Defense Department obligations where more money needs to be spent. What I’m saying is I have yet to be convinced that that money cannot be found within the areas of DOD where less money is now being spent.”
In particular, Smith highlighted funding the Pentagon previously redirected to build Trump’s border wall that has yet to be spent, an amount he said totals about $2 billion.
Pandemic hits new Air Force One: Work on the new Air Force One has been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic, the maker of the presidential aircraft revealed Wednesday while saying the program remains on schedule.
A number of Boeing programs including the Air Force One replacement known as the VC-25B were “impacted by COVID-19,” company executive vice president and CFO Greg Smith said during an earnings call.
Smith only gave vague details as to how work on the program was affected, saying later in the call that with employees working virtually, “particularly on the engineering side … certainly has created some inefficiencies that has caused us to reevaluate our estimate to complete those efforts.”
He added that “the program remains on schedule.”
When asked for more details, a Boeing spokesman would only say that the company does not anticipate an impact to the program schedule or the contractual delivery date of 2024.
KJU WATCH: More satellite imagery out of North Korea is suggesting Kim Jong Un is at his coastal resort in the Wonsan area.
As reported by Reuters on Wednesday, satellite imagery released by North Korea-monitoring website NK PRO showed luxury boats often used by Kim active in the Wonsan area this month.
That comes after 38 North, another website that monitors North Korea, said Saturday satellite imagery showed a train likely belonging to Kim at a station for his Wonsan compound since at least April 21.
More satellite imagery published by 38 North on Wednesday showed the train at the station again.
House Armed Services Chairman Smith was asked Wednesday what he’s heard about Kim’s status and told reporters he doesn’t “have any idea whether or not Kim Jong Un is alive, in a vegetative state, hanging upside down by his ankles or any of the above.”
Still, he speculated Kim’s absence could be a bid for attention.
“Kim Jong Un was perhaps a little jealous of COVID-19. Nobody’s paying attention to him anymore, and maybe this is a play to get the world to start talking about him again,” Smith said. “Or maybe he’s dead. I don’t know. North Korea is in an opaque place. It is definitely something that we should pay attention to.”
ON TAP FOR TOMORROW
The Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance will hold a virtual event on “The Missile Defense Review: One Year Reflection and Outlook to the Future” with former under secretary of Defense for policy John Rood at 11:30 a.m. https://bit.ly/35hwQDH
Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville will participate in a webinar with the Brookings Institution at 3:30 p.m. https://brook.gs/2YiEvQX
ICYMI
— The Hill: Senate panel plans hearing next week for Trump’s intel chief pick
— The Hill: Military jets salute coronavirus workers in US with multiple flyovers
— The Hill: South Korean minister: North Korean leader may be staying out of spotlight over coronavirus concerns
— Associated Press: Many field hospitals went largely unused, will be shut down
— New York Times: The Marine Corps battles for Its identity, over women in boot camp