Overnight Defense: Trump rejects scrapping Confederate names from Army bases | House chairman ups push for Esper, Milley to testify | Ousted State IG tells lawmakers he doesn’t know status of Pompeo investigations

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: President Trump has put the kibosh on the Army’s nascent consideration of renaming bases that are named after Confederate military officers.

In a series of tweets, Trump said he would “not even consider” renaming the bases and argued they have become part of U.S. history that should not be “tampered with.”

“These Monumental and very Powerful Bases have become part of a Great American Heritage, and a history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom,” he tweeted, adding that “HEROES” who won two world wars were trained on the “Hallowed Grounds” of the bases.

“Therefore, my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations,” Trump continued.

Minutes after Trump posted his comments, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany began Wednesday’s briefing by distributing them to reporters and reading them in their entirety from the podium.

“That was directly from the president. We spent some time working on that, and I wanted to deliver that to you,” she said.

The Army said Wednesday it had no comment on Trump’s tweets.

Flashback to … two day ago: Trump’s tweets come two days after an Army spokesman said Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and Defense Secretary Mark Esper are “open” to renaming the bases.

The stance the Army announced Monday marked a reversal from as recently as February, when the service told Task & Purpose it had no plans to change the name of any base, including those named after Confederate military officers. At the time, as in years prior, the Army argued the bases were named in the “spirit of reconciliation.”

The about-face came amid nationwide protests over police brutality and racial injustice sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died when a police officer who has since been fired and charged with second-degree murder knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.

Protesters and state and local governments have moved to bring down multiple Confederate statues and monuments since Floyd’s death on May 25.

Veto threat: This year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) hasn’t even been approved by a committee yet – the Senate Armed Services Committee was in the process of marking up its version behind closed doors as Trump tweeted – but the White House has already issued a veto threat if the bill requires the bases to be renamed.

“The president will not be signing legislation that renames America’s forts,” McEnany said when asked if he would veto an NDAA that includes such a requirement.

Reaction: Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.), an Army veteran who is black, called Trump’s decision a “slap in the face” to black soldiers.

“Bases that continue to bear the names of Confederate soldiers and officers — persons who wrongly fought to protect the institution of slavery and would have denied Black Americans from serving in the military — are a reminder of that systemic oppression we continue to confront and damages the culture of inclusivity needed to accomplish the mission,” Brown said in a statement.

“The Commander in Chief’s defense of racists, who betrayed their country and stood for disunion and oppression, is a slap in the face to the Black soldiers he leads and shows — yet again — his unfitness for duty,” he added.

The news release from Brown’s office also notes the battlefield failures of several of the men the bases are named after, including that “Braxton Bragg who was considered one of the worst generals in the Civil War” and that the Confederacy lost the war.

SMITH VS. ESPER CONTINUES: House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) on Wednesday upped his efforts to get Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Mark Milley to testify before his committee on the military’s role in responding to last week’s protests.

In a letter to Esper on Wednesday, Smith said it was “unacceptable that, except for staff communication, you have not responded to our formal written request that you and Chairman Milley appear before the committee for a hearing on the department’s roles and authorities in civilian law enforcement.”

Smith suggested the White House is preventing Esper and Milley from testifying.

“Therefore, I ask that you coordinate with the committee to provide your and Chairman Milley’s availability no later than June 11, 2020 so that we can schedule a hearing,” Smith continued. “Without your cooperation, the committee will be forced to set a hearing date and time without your input.”

Smith also sent a letter to Esper last week with several questions about the use of the military in response to the protests in D.C. In his letter Wednesday, Smith said the questions remain unanswered despite him setting a Tuesday deadline.

“The letter requires a response and these questions cannot be left unanswered. It is imperative that you provide answers to these questions immediately,” Smith wrote.

DEMS RELEASE TRANSCRIPT IN STATE IG FIRING INVESTIGATION: Ousted State Department Inspector General Steve Linick told House lawmakers he’s unaware if investigations into Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are being pursued and refuted justifications for his firing, according to a transcript released by House Democrats on Wednesday.

The interview was conducted last week as part of Democratic lawmakers’ investigation into the circumstances surrounding Linick’s ouster and whether it amounted to an act of political retaliation to disrupt investigations into Pompeo.

At least two reviews of Pompeo’s actions were ongoing at the time of Linick’s firing, including allegations of misuse of federal resources by the secretary and his wife and the legality of the State Department’s justification to sell billions of dollars of weapons to Saudi Arabia without the approval of Congress.

Linick in his interview said he doesn’t know “the exact status” of these investigations.

“All I can say is it’s ongoing and — their report is ongoing. That’s the best I can say. I haven’t been in the office for almost several weeks now, so I don’t know the exact status,” he said of the probe into the Saudi arms sales, according to the transcript.

He said he has “no indication one way or the other” if reviews of Pompeo’s use of federal funds are being pursued.

State wants Linick investigated: On Tuesday night, before the transcript was released, news came that the State Department is asking for a government watchdog panel to investigate Linick.

Brian Bulatao, the department’s under secretary for Management and a long-time ally of Pompeo, sent a letter this week requesting an investigation by the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), which is tasked with probing allegations of wrongdoing by government watchdogs.

“Specifically, the department has become aware that Mr. Linick may have hand-selected a potentially-conflicted investigator to look into possible misconduct by his own office and then withheld the resulting report … from State Department leadership, despite repeated requests for a copy of the report,” Bulatao wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Hill.

On Wednesday, Pompeo said he has requested a new investigation into whether Linick leaked reports to the press.

Linick had earlier been cleared of such allegations by an independent investigation.

But House Republicans have homed in on whether Linick had earlier acted improperly in his efforts to provide accountability over the leaked report.

Charges of leaking to the press are one of several examples Pompeo has used to justify his push for Linick’s ousting.

“Steve Linick was a bad actor in the inspector general’s office here, he didn’t take on the mission of the State Department to make us better,” Pompeo told reporters at the State Department during a combative press conference.

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW

Under secretary of Defense for acquisition and sustainment Ellen Lord will participate in a virtual fireside chat on “National Defense in the Age of COVID-19” at noon with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. https://bit.ly/2XPA3It

ICYMI

— The Hill: Pentagon announces $135M in deals under Defense Production Act

— The Hill: US military jets intercept Russian bombers, fighters off Alaskan coast

— The Hill: US faces allegations of human rights abuses over treatment of protesters

— Reuters: U.S.-Polish Fort Trump project crumbles

— New York Times: Aggressive tactics by National Guard, ordered to appease Trump, wounded the military, too

— Defense News: Defense bill to include billion dollars for pandemic response and preparedness