Tag: Congress
Stevenson’s army, January 18
AP says FBI is vetting National Guard troops in DC to prevent insider threat.
Several cabinet nominees have Senate hearings Tuesday, Hill has as story on the Austin hearing before SASC.
Politico has a long story on the inside fights that undermined Operation Warp Speed.
Maggie Haberman & colleague analyze the role of words in the Trump presidency.
CRS has new report with historical data on congressional careers.
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My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
Stevenson’s army, January 4
Prof. Edelman and Dean Cohen organized the statement signed by all living former Secretaries of Defense calling for acceptance of the election results and keeping the military out of elections. Here’s the statement.
Pres. Trump pressured Georgia officials to “find” enough votes to give him the election. Here’s the transcript and audio.
DOD reversed course and now says the Nimitz will stay in the Middle East.
China’s new law transfers war powers from the cabinet to the military commission.
Jim Golby & Peter Feaver suggest Biden tackle civil-military relations.
In parliamentary systems cabinets expand to reward partners with special portfolios. I think Speaker Pelosi secured her 4-vote victory by creating some special committees, including Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth and the renewed Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. See at the end of the new House rules.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
Stevenson’s army, January 3
About a dozen GOP Senators have pledged to challenge the electoral votes from several swing states.
Read their statement. They speak of “allegations” of fraud, not “evidence.” They say a challenge is necessary because so many people, especially Republicans, tell pollsters they believe there was fraud.
And what they propose — which would have to get both houses of Congress to vote such a bill — is what they call an” emergency 10-day audit” of the returns. What they want is a return to the 1877 electoral commission that voted on partisan lines to give the presidency to Rutherford Hayes by a one-vote margin. Wikipedia has a good backgrounder.
How clever! They have a precedent. It sounds so reasonable. And if anyone doubts that this massive task could be completed by January 20, Peter Navarro assures us that “We can go past that date if we need to.”
Last month I sent this CRS report on how the counting is supposed to go, by law.
Today [Sunday] at noon,the 117th Congress begins. In the House, the first item of business is electing a Speaker. But the vote may be quite close.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
Stevenson’s army, January 2
After 8 successful vetoes, President Trump lost on his 9th as Congress overrode his veto of the NDAA, thus allowing the measure to become law for the 60th year in a row.
The new 117th Congress begins Sunday at noon. Assuming that Nancy Pelosi gets enough votes to become Speaker again, House Democrats plan major changes in the rules.
Meanwhile, the Senate has trouble organizing until the Georgia runoff results are clear.
NYT says acting SecDef Miller surprised senior officers and rejected their advice by ordering the carrier Nimitz to return home from the Middle East.
NYT has new article posted this AM detailing impact of the Russian hack.
Tevi Troy, author of a good book on White House staff intrigue over the decades, has WSJ article giving examples from his book.
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My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
Stevenson’s army, December 29
The House easily overrode the veto of the NDAA. A Senate vote might be delayed by Sen. Sanders’ demand that a vote also be scheduled on the $2000 stimulus payments bill.
Axios notes China’s good economic year.
But WSJ notes pushback against China from many countries.
NATO reports interceptions of Russian planes.
Biden complains of “roadblocks” to transition teams by DOD and OMB.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).
Stevenson’s army, December 28
Looking back, New Yorker has huge story reviewing The Plague Year.
Former CIA official says we’re in a permanent cyber conflict; US has been doing it, too; US needs better defenses.
Brookings has key pub: Vital Statistics on Congress.
Looking forward: House votes today on NDAA veto override. If it passes, on to the Senate.
All sides gear up for redistricting fights.
My SAIS colleague Charlie Stevenson distributes this almost daily news digest of foreign/defense/national security policy to “Stevenson’s army” via Googlegroups. I plan to republish here. To get Stevenson’s army by email, send a blank email (no subject or text in the body) to stevensons-army+subscribe@googlegroups.com. You’ll get an email confirming your join request. Click “Join This Group” and follow the instructions to join. Once you have joined, you can adjust your email delivery preferences (if you want every email or a digest of the emails).