Tony Bertuca

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), noting her experience as a sexual assault survivor, said today she wants Pete Hegseth, whom President-elect Trump has nominated to be defense secretary, to continue to have a thorough vetting process including an FBI background check.

The Defense Department's efforts to accelerate its notoriously slow acquisition process have proved unsuccessful, despite years of reform work, according to the Government Accountability Office, which released a new report today doubling down on its recent assertion that DOD procurement remains "alarmingly slow." “DOD’s efforts to increase the speed of delivery to the warfighter have yet to improve average delivery time for weapon system acquisitions,” GAO said in a report assessing a collection of reforms known as the Adaptive Acquisition...

The House has voted 281-140 to pass the compromise version of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill, teeing up the legislation to be passed by the Senate.

A senior defense official acknowledged today that the Pentagon might not be able to use all of its remaining $5.6 billion in Presidential Drawdown Authority to rapidly transfer U.S. weapons to Ukraine before President-elect Trump is sworn in.

A massive, 1,547-page stopgap continuing resolution unveiled by the House GOP last night runs through March 14 and would, among a host of other provisions, provide $14.6 billion in funding for the Columbia- and Virginia-class submarine programs. The bill would allocate $8.8 billion toward Columbia, with $5.9 billion for advance procurement and $2.9 billion for standard procurement work. The amount is nearly $5 billion more than what was sought by the White House Office of Management and Budget. The legislation...

China’s military budget is anywhere between 40% and 90% more than the amount publicly disclosed by the government in Beijing, according to the Defense Department's annual assessment of Chinese military capabilities. The assessment, known as the China Military Power Report, states that while Beijing announced a “public defense budget” in 2023 that was $220 billion, the actual amount is currently somewhere between $330 billion and $450 billion. “This range reflects a standardized estimate in market exchange rates and purchasing...

The Senate voted today 85-14 to pass the final version of the fiscal year 2025 defense authorization bill, sending the $895 billion piece of legislation to President Biden for his signature.

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s pick for defense secretary, is scheduled to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Jan. 14.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), who is expected to chair the Senate Armed Services Committee next year, unveiled new legislation today aimed at reforming the Pentagon's notoriously slow weapons procurement and budgeting processes. Wicker’s office said his new plan titled “ Restoring Freedom’s Forge: American Innovation Unleashed ” outlines recommendations in five key areas: “cutting red tape, unleashing innovation, increasing competition, enabling decisive action and modernizing the budget process.” The senator and his team have also proposed new legislation via the...

The House voted 366-34 to pass a revised -- and slimmed down -- continuing resolution tonight just hours before a scheduled government shut down, retaining provisions from an earlier bill that would provide $14.6 billion in funding for the Columbia- and Virginia-class submarine programs.