Joe Gould was the senior Pentagon reporter for Defense News, covering the intersection of national security policy, politics and the defense industry. He had previously served as Congress reporter.
While the cost of the nation’s pandemic response is putting pressure on the defense budget, its unlikely Congress will make a sweeping, indiscriminate cut, according to Senate Armed Services Committee chairman.
Two sea power advocates in Congress are making the case to grow the Navy's budget, along with the Air Force and cyber capabilities, at the expense of the other services.
New power-sharing rules for Senate Democrats is shaking up the Senate Armed Services Committees, with some junior authorizers taking prized subcommittee chairmanships.
A Montana Democratic will chair the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, handing new clout over the defense budget to a state with nuclear weapons interests.
Republican Rep. Ken Calvert is willing to meet Democratic lawmakers partway in their reported plans to trim the defense budget: cut back on civilian employees, not equipment and modernization.
The Senate confirmed Kathleen Hicks as deputy defense secretary on Monday evening, making her the first woman to be confirmed by the Senate to the position.
This week saw a wave of organizational moves in both chambers, with familiar faces in new roles and some new lawmakers added to the Armed Services committees.