Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security The Big Story Top Republican inquiring about Spacecom HQ delay The news comes amid speculation the Biden administration might halt plans to relocate the headquarters over strict abortion laws in Alabama. © iStock Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chairman…
Author: BRAD DRESS
Top Republican launches investigation into delayed Spacecom relocation
The chairman of the House Armed Services committee has launched an investigation into the delayed relocation of U.S. Space Command (Spacecom) from Colorado to Alabama. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) on Thursday sent a letter to Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Spacecom commander Gen. James Dickinson expressing concern about apparent “changes” to the planned relocation…
Bipartisan senators call for probe into reports of price gouging by defense contractors
A bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday urging him to open an investigation into reports of systematic price gouging by defense contractors. The letter, which included the signatures of Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), cites a CBS News “60 Minutes” report on major defense…
20,000 Wagner soldiers died in Bakhmut fighting, chief says
Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said he lost 20,000 of his fighters in the battle for Bakhmut, highlighting the immense price Russia paid to capture the destroyed city in eastern Ukraine. Prigozhin said in a new interview with a prominent Russian blogger that of the tens of thousands of convicts his private military company recruited…
US signs security pact with Papua New Guinea to counter China’s Pacific influence
The U.S. on Monday signed a new security agreement with the island nation of Papua New Guinea, as Washington seeks to counter China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region. The Defense Cooperation Agreement both enhances and modernizes an old security pact between the nations, increasing bilateral and multilateral exercises and improving the capabilities of the U.S….
Ukraine says it still controls small part of Bakhmut
Ukrainian leaders on Monday again denied that Russia has taken full control of Bakhmut, stressing their forces still hold a small part of the city despite Moscow’s claims of complete victory. Russian private military company Wagner Group first claimed control over Bakhmut on Saturday, which was later confirmed by Russia’s Ministry of Defense. Ukrainian President…
As Ukraine aid dries up, next package remains on back burner
The billions of dollars in defense aid approved for Ukraine last year could dry up by late summer, but conversations on the next round of funding remain on Congress’s back burner. Lawmakers say delays caused by the ongoing debt ceiling impasse and the uncertain implications of a coming Ukrainian counteroffensive have delayed serious conversations around…
Judge orders alleged Pentagon leaker to be held until trial
A federal judge on Friday ordered alleged classified document leaker Jack Teixeira to be held in jail until he faces trial. Ahead of his determination, Judge David Hennessy in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts said Teixeira had twice been warned by his superiors about the proper handling of classified material. Henessy said the suspected…
Pentagon acknowledges $3 billion accounting error in Ukraine aid
Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security The Big Story Defense officials overestimated Ukraine aid delivery by $3 billion The revelation means there is more security assistance for Ukraine than previously believed. © AP Through an accounting error, the Pentagon overestimated the value of the security…
DOJ says alleged Pentagon leaker sent documents to international community
Accused Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira sent classified documents to an international community on the chat forum site Discord, according to a Wednesday filing from federal prosecutors. In supporting a motion to detain Teixeira ahead of his trial, the Department of Justice (DOJ) accused the 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National guardsman of sharing documents across multiple servers…