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HAPPENING TODAY, ESPER AT AEI: Army Secretary Mark Esper will be at the American Enterprise Institute at 9:15 a.m. to discuss the service’s new Futures Command, other reforms, and the recruitment “war for talent” with Jim Talent, the former U.S. senator.
FAITHFUL NO MORE: A day after the midterms, the Pentagon confirmed it is dropping the name Operation Faithful Patriot for the thousands of active-duty troops deployed to the Mexico border. Lt. Col. Jamie Davis said the military will now simply refer to the effort as “border support.” The order came from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ office Tuesday as about 8,000 troops were deployed, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the move.
But the Pentagon had no public explanation yesterday for why it made the decision, even as it was nixing references to the operation ordered by Trump to protect the border from two groups of migrants walking north through Mexico. The president warned the migrants were set to invade the U.S.
INVASION CONFRONTATION: The president’s claim was challenged yesterday by CNN’s Jim Acosta, in a testy exchange at yesterday’s press conference, in which Acosta refused to relinquish the microphone, and Trump called him “a rude, terrible person,” and labeled CNN “the enemy of the people,” when it reports “fake news.”
The confrontation angered Trump, who six times told Acosta “that’s enough,” and asked him to put down the mic and sit down. Later the White House revoked Acosta’s White House press pass “until further notice,” calling Acosta’s conduct “absolutely unacceptable.” Press secretary Sarah Sanders posted video on Twitter she said showed Acosta inappropriately pushing away a White House intern who was trying to retrieve the microphone to pass it to the next reporter.
“President Trump believes in a free press and expects and welcomes tough questions of him and his Administration. We will, however, never tolerate a reporter placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern,” she tweeted.
CNN RESPONDS: “This President’s ongoing attacks on the press have gone too far,” said a statement issued by CNN. “They are not only dangerous, they are disturbingly un-American. While President Trump has made it clear he does not respect a free press, he has a sworn obligation to protect it. A free press is vital to democracy, and we stand behind Jim Acosta and his fellow journalists everywhere.”
AND SARAH TWEETS BACK: “Only they [CNN] would attack the President for not supporting a free press in the midst of him taking 68 questions from 35 different reporters… over the course of 1.5 hours including several from the reporter in question. The fact that CNN is proud of the way their employee behaved is not only disgusting, it‘s an example of their outrageous disregard for everyone, including young women, who work in this Administration.”
YOU BE THE JUDGE: Was Acosta accosting the young woman? Or did his arm inadvertently brush the intern, as she was reaching underneath him to get the microphone? CNN has posted the entire exchange here. You decide.
GRAHAM WEIGHS IN: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham says the whole incident shows White House press corps “lives in a bubble,” and “simply cannot stand the fact that President Trump and Republicans defied expectations in the midterm elections.”
“The mainstream press are not — in my opinion — ‘Enemies of the People’ but rather ‘Allies of the Democratic Party’ playing an activist role in support of their agenda,” Graham said in a statement issued shortly after the news conference.
MIXED BAG FOR SPACE FORCE: Two of Space Force’s most visible critics in Congress may be out after the midterms. Rep. Mike Coffman, a House Armed Services subcommittee chairman, strongly opposed Trump’s space service and was defeated Tuesday night by Democrat Jason Crow. Sen. Bill Nelson, a senior member of Senate Armed Services, opposed a space service for the past year and said it would never become a reality. Now, he is fighting for his political life in a mandatory Florida race recount.
But the coming fight over creating Space Force will be bigger than them. While the Senate is warming to the proposal, Rep. Adam Smith is expected to take the House Armed Services chairman gavel in January and has said a new service does not make sense. A new Democratic majority on Armed Services is likely to rally around his skepticism and concerns about cost.
Any turn against the Space Force could be tempered, however. Congress’ two biggest Space Force boosters, Reps. Mike Rogers and Jim Cooper easily won re-election. As the top Republican and Democrat on the House Armed Services subcommittee overseeing space, they are likely to retain control of the panel no matter who is in the House majority, and will still hold influence over the debate as it unfolds earlier next year.
FORMER DoD OFFICIALS TO PROBE CRASHES: A former Army secretary and a retired Air Force general were named to Congress’ new commission investigating a recent rash of deadly military aircraft crashes, the House Armed Services Committee announced. Pete Geren and Gen. Raymond Johns, who headed the service’s Air Mobility Command, are among four who will sit on the National Commission on Military Aviation Safety.
The picks were made by Rep. Mac Thornberry, the House Armed Services chairman, and Smith. The commission was first proposed by Smith earlier this year after the fiery crash of an Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane in Georgia that killed nine troops. Two more commissioners will be named to the panel by Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Armed Services. Trump will also appoint four commissioners.
IRANIAN TANKERS GO DARK: The U.S. is accusing Iran of creating a hazard to shipping in the Persian Gulf in an effort to conceal its exports of crude oil in defiance of new sanctions imposed by the U.S. this week. Iranian-flagged oil tankers are switching off their transponders, which they are required by international maritime law to use to broadcast their identity and location.
“Based on credible data, we now know that up to a dozen Iranian tankers have recently disabled their maritime transponders, and have effectively gone dark,” said Brian Hook, the State Department’s special representative for Iran. “We should not be surprised that an outlaw regime also violates basic maritime law. Turning off these transponders makes tankers harder to track, and is a tactic that Iran has used in the past to evade sanctions,” he said at a briefing yesterday.
The U.S. is urging all countries to block Iranian vessels in compliance with U.S.-imposed sanction regime. “Our strong message to any entity considering doing business with these Iranian tankers, is to rethink your decision. Protect your port. Protect your business. And promote maritime safety,” Hook said.
MIDTERM ELECTIONS WERE ‘SECURE’ SAYS DHS: Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said yesterday that this week’s midterm elections were the “most secure” the U.S. has ever seen.
“Thank you to all our state and local and private sector partners who worked with @DHSgov, @NPPD, & @Cyber to ensure that this #ElectionDay was the most secure ever,” Nielsen said on Twitter Wednesday morning.
DHS has not reported any mass fraudulent voting, amended vote counts, or abnormal disruptions in the nationwide vote.
THE RUNDOWN
New York Times: Trump Says He Will Not Meet Putin This Weekend, Contradicting the Kremlin
Defense News: Post-election, analysts still predict a budget deal
Task and Purpose: US Troops Riding Through The Desert On A Mission With No Name
Forbes: Democratic Takeover of House Could Be End For Trump Defense Buildup
Foreign Policy: House Dems to Turn the Screws on Trump’s State Department
Daily Beast: Russia in Dismay and Despair as Democrats Take the House in Midterm Elections
Fox News: Stealthy hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Silverado military truck breaks cover
Defense One: US-Backed Forces in Iraq, Syria May Face Challenges for Years
Army Times: To draw more soldiers, the Army wants more recruiters, bigger budgets and a better slogan
Reuters: U.S. senator adds to pressure on Pentagon to clean up military housing
USA Today: Kremlin: Any new U.S. sanctions over British spy case would be ‘illegal’
AP: Kim Jong Un slow walks nuke talks, woos SKorean investors
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