By CONNOR O’BRIEN
Editor's Note: This edition of Morning Defense is published weekdays at 10 a.m. POLITICO Pro Defense subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 5:30 a.m. To learn more about POLITICO Pro's comprehensive policy intelligence coverage, policy tools and services, click here.
QUICK FIX
— The Pentagon is crafting military options to deter Russian, Chinese and Cuban influence in Venezuela, but stopping short of military action against the embattled regime of President Nicolas Maduro.
— In an interview, the new top House Defense Appropriations Republican, Rep. Ken Calvert, argues lawmakers need to provide on-time funding to help the military match advances by Russia and China and wants to see more efficiency at the Pentagon.
— Amid a long drought in on-camera briefings by senior defense officials, the top Homeland Security spokesman is headed to the Pentagon to become the next assistant to the secretary for public affairs.
HAPPY TUESDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE. We’re filling in this week for Morning D correspondent Dave Brown, who’s taking a few days off, and are always on the lookout for tips, pitches and feedback. Email us at cobrien@politico.com, and follow on Twitter @connorobriennh, @morningdefense and @politicopro.
PENTAGON
PENTAGON DEVELOPING OPTIONS TO DETER RUSSIA AND CHINA IN VENEZUELA, reports CNN: "The Pentagon is developing new military options for Venezuela aimed at deterring Russian, Cuban and Chinese influence inside the regime of President Nicolas Maduro, but stopping short of any kinetic military actions, according to a defense official familiar with the effort."
"The deterrence options are being ordered following a White House meeting last week where national security adviser John Bolton told acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan to develop ideas on the Venezuela crisis."
"Deterrence options could include U.S. naval exercises in the immediate region to emphasize humanitarian assistance and more military interaction with neighboring countries. The idea would be to challenge any Russian, Cuban or Chinese notion that they could have unchallenged access to the region."
ARMY LAUNCHES HOUSING COMPLAINT REGISTRY, reports Task & Purpose: "In an effort to get a handle on what has grown into a military-wide crisis in privatized housing, the Army is launching a registry to help keep track of complaints, according to a memo obtained by Task & Purpose."
"The memo — signed by Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Nadja West — will be sent to Army residents who have already submitted work orders with health or safety concerns...The purpose of the registry is to provide the resident with information 'on housing environmental health hazards,' help the resident seek 'medical care for any housing related illnesses or concerns,' and share said concerns with Army leadership."
ON THE HILL
A ‘CHEAP HAWK’ TAKES FLIGHT: Congress needs to make up for lost time in modernizing the military, but has precious little time to do it, argues Rep. Ken Calvert, the new top Republican on the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
Military advances by Russia and China, plans to expand the U.S. Navy and shortfalls in military readiness underscore the need for lawmakers to enact on-time defense spending legislation, the California congressman said in a recent POLITICO Pro Q&A.
"We haven’t done the modernization to the force that we should’ve done. And our adversaries … have been doing that," Calvert said in an interview. "So, in many aspects, we have a lot of catching up to do."
A former restaurant owner and real estate executive, the 14-term California congressman says his business sense is what sets him apart. Jokingly calling himself a "cheap hawk," Calvert says he wants more bang for the taxpayer buck at the Pentagon.
"I want to put out an excellent product for the least amount of money," he explained. "You take care of the pennies and nickels, the dollars will take care of themselves. And I don’t think we think that way here."
LAWMAKERS HEAD SOUTH: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is leading a 10-member delegation to South America during this two-week congressional recess. The lawmakers stopped first in Argentina over the weekend, McCarthy's office announced, where they discussed the situation in Venezuela, defense cooperation and "our countries’ shared efforts to combat anti-Semitism."
The delegation includes House Armed Services ranking Republican Mac Thornberry of Texas and House Homeland Security ranking member Mike Rogersof Alabama.
HAPPENING TODAY
NAVY VCNO TALKS MARITIME SECURITY: Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies this morning as part of the think tank's Maritime Security Dialogue program. Moran was tapped last week to succeed CNO Adm. John Richardson, who is retiring.
EU IN THE CROSSFIRE: An expert panel at the Hudson Institute discusses the future of the European Union's relationship with China. Among the panelists: Assistant Defense Secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Randall Schriver.
WAR REPORT
AIRSTRIKE KILLS ISIS LEADER IN SOMALIA: "A U.S. airstrike in Somalia on Sunday killed a senior member of the Islamic State's local branch, the U.S. military headquarters responsible for Africa announced," writes our colleague Wesley Morgan. "Abdulhakim Dhuqub, the 'second in command of ISIS-Somalia,' was hit as he was traveling in a vehicle, according to a statement from U.S. Africa Command."
"U.S. counterterrorism operations in Somalia typically target the al-Shabaab militant group, with only a small minority of strikes targeting the Islamic State, which holds a pocket of territory in the mountains of Somalia's Puntland region. The airstrike is already the 31st Africa Command has reported this year in Somalia, compared to 47 in all of 2018."
'ENDURING' PRESENCE: Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, told reporters Monday, after a visit to Afghanistan last week with fellow Democrats, the U.S. and allies must commit to an "enduring counterterrorism presence" in Afghanistan to blunt foreign terrorist groups that could be sheltered by the Taliban.
"We can't assume that anyone other than the U.S. forces and our allied forces can be a successful counterterrorism instrument going forward," Reed said. "The stakes are too high in terms of the potential of either ISIS-Khorasan or [an] al Qaeda element to regroup."
Up next, Iraq: Reed and Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Doug Jones of Alabama are now in Iraq, where Reed said they hope to assess the political situation and the ramifications of Trump’s designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group.
MAKING MOVES
DHS SPOKESMAN HEADED TO THE PENTAGON: Jonathan Hoffman, the top spokesman at the Homeland Security Department, will leave for the Pentagon, a department official confirmed Monday to POLITICO's Ted Hesson. The move was first reported by Defense News.
"Hoffman will become assistant to the secretary for public affairs at the Defense Department, a similar position to the role he held at DHS," Ted writes. "The position has been vacant since Dana White left following the resignation of former Defense Secretary James Mattis. White had faced an internal probe over allegedly requiring staffers to run errands for her."
INDUSTRY INTEL
$500M MILITARY SALE TO TAIWAN APPROVED: "U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale to Taiwan of a pilot training program and maintenance and logistics support for F-16 aircraft currently at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona at an estimated cost of $500 million, the Pentagon said on Monday," reports Reuters.
CONTRACT SPENDING BOUNCE: Defense contract obligations have increased in each of the two fiscal years after bottoming out in 2015, according to a new CSIS report analyzing acquisition trends. The report assesses trends in contract spending, what the Pentagon is buying and how it purchases it.
SPEED READ
— The Justice Department plans to release a redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Thursday: POLITICO
— The president and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brush aside North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s demands on nuclear talks: Reuters
— The Air Force deploys the F-35 to the Middle East for the first time: Air Force Times
— Trump suggests Boeing rebrand its crash-plagued 737 MAX jets: POLITICO
— SpaceX is raising another $500 million amid internal questions over its ambitious satellite venture: The Wall Street Journal
— A suspected murder-suicide involving a U.S. sailor and a Japanese woman inflames tensions over the U.S. troop presence on Okinawa: The Washington Post
— A new policy will automatically review some military valor medals for higher awards: Military.com
— First lady Melania Trump and second lady Karen Pence visit Fort Bragg in North Carolina with Army Secretary Mark Esper: Fayetteville Observer
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