Daily Brief

Defense spending bill forces Israel arms transfers, nixes Ukraine aid

The House moved its first draft of the FY25 defense spending bill, pushing back on President Biden's Israel arms transfer hold and excluding Ukraine aid.

Austin meets with Chinese counterpart for first time since 2022

The two discussed a range of security issues, including China's stance on Russia's war in Ukraine.

Coast Guard response to Key Bridge collapse reveals a strained service

The service works over 3.4 million square miles of Exclusive Economic Zones and defends a coastline longer than the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

Powerful GOP senator eyes ships, jets, nukes in defense spending surge

Sen. Wicker's plan lays out an additional $55 billion above FY25 defense spending caps.

Key Republican calls for ‘generational’ increase in defense spending

Sen. Roger Wicker said he'll seek an additional $55 billion in defense spending over the limits forged in the deal to suspend the nation’s debt limit.

Sightline urges India to provide information on arrested reporter

It has been almost a year since the Indian government arrested Vivek Raghuvanshi, a longtime freelancer journalist with Defense News.

Senators push to update nuclear military might in defense bill

The Restoring American Deterrence Act focuses on deploying additional ICBMs, uranium enrichment and Defense Production Act grants for industry.

Republicans pick defense hawk to usher spending bills

Republicans have selected a traditional defense hawk and Ukraine aid proponent as the new House appropriations chairman.

Israel F-15 sale in jeopardy as congressional support wanes

A key lawmaker said he has not greenlit an F-15 sale for Israel as its operations in Gaza alienate previously supportive Democrats.

House panel questions Pentagon on Chinese biotech firms

The House's China panel is pushing Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to add several biotech firms to the Pentagon list of Chinese military companies.

Congress passes defense spending bill after months of delays

Congress has passed an $825 billion FY24 defense spending bill, but the plan to get Ukraine military assistance across the finish line remains uncertain.

Granger, Gallagher leave committee posts as House GOP majority shrinks

Kay Granger steps down as appropriations chair and China panel chair Mike Gallagher announces his resignation in April, shrinking the GOP majority.

Pacific force’s wish list seeks $11 billion more than defense proposal

Indo-Pacific Command says it faces an $11 billion funding gap for regional military construction, space programs, munitions and Guam missile defenses.

A nearly $1 trillion defense budget faces headwinds at home and abroad

There are bipartisan calls to hit the breaks as defense spending nears $1 trillion. Others say that amount is not enough to fund U.S. strategy worldwide.

Opinion

Three directions the US defense budget could go

Battles over border security, as well as aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, make the outcome for the FY25 defense budget difficult to predict.

How can the Pentagon arm Ukraine amid stalled aid package?

The department is weighing options to keep arms flowing to ammunition-starved Ukraine, but there's no replacement for the aid package stalled in Congress.