| 'COACH'S HOLD': Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) seems more convinced than ever of the righteousness of his crusade against proforma Senate confirmations of senior generals and admirals. The former football coach, who still goes by "coach," has moved beyond his original complaint that the Pentagon is violating the Hyde Amendment in granting paid time off and funding travel for troops seeking abortions. He now argues that the Senate tradition of approving large groups of promotions by consensus allows too many "woke" officers to slip through unchallenged. An email to reporters from Tuberville's office pointed to a thread posted on X by the American Accountability Foundation, a conservative nonprofit organization that runs a website describing itself as "working to ensure that leaders within the federal government reflect the values and concerns of the American people, not the liberal coastal elites and their woke allies in corporate America." The thread identifies a dozen officers up for promotion who have said anything positive about the military's diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, labeling them as examples of "one of the WOKEST slates of military nominees ever assembled." "So now we're finding out why Democrats don't want to vote on military nominees," said Steven Stafford, Tuberville's communications director. "Is this why Democrats are so determined not to vote, but to pass these nominees through unanimous consent?" "Coach's hold has given the Senate time to do more oversight over the Pentagon. What we're finding out isn't always pretty," Stafford said. REED: 'A SMOKING GUN CONFESSION': The new argument comes as Tuberville struck a raw nerve last week when repeating something he's said before: that he thinks the military has too many generals already. "We've got 44 four-star generals right now. We only had seven during World War II. So I think we were a little overloaded to begin with," Tuberville said on The Kimberly Guilfoyle Show podcast. "I don't care if they promote anybody to be honest with you." "Senator Tuberville's shocking admission that he 'doesn't care if they promote anybody' is a smoking gun confession," said Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It demonstrates how Senate Republicans are doing nothing to help end his blockade." More than 300 military promotions are being blocked by Tuberville's hold, which would require each promotion to be considered individually. "This Republican blockade has left the Army, Navy, and Marines without confirmed leaders for the first time in history," Reed said. "Similar to the way military officers hold each other to account, it's time Senate Republican leaders bring their colleague into line and end this harmful blockade on merit-based military promotions." IS GEN. BROWN A MARXIST? Air Force chief of staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, President Joe Biden's nominee to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is also the target of hard-right groups who label him a "DEI activist" who is responsible for weakening the Air Force and "woke" policies at the Air Force Academy. A website opposing Brown's confirmation, rejectgeneralbrown.org, displays a composite picture of Karl Marx in the uniform of a four-star Air Force general and says, "Brown appears to be even more political and enthusiastic about the Marxist make-over of America's armed forces than the disastrous incumbent, General Mark A. Milley." "He has called for selecting and promoting officers, not based on their abilities and performance as warriors, but according to arbitrary quotas determined by the color of their skin or their ethnicity," the site alleges. A separate site hosted by the Conservative Action Project opposes Brown's confirmation based on his "track record at the Air Force and his zealous commitment to race-based hiring metrics [that] would jeopardize the unity, lethality and readiness of our armed forces." The statement is signed by a long list of conservatives, including retired Lt. Col. Allen West, executive director of the American Constitutional Rights Union; retired Lt. Gen. William Boykin, executive vice president of the Family Research Council; former Republican South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, chairman of the Conservative Partnership Institute; and Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER Good Thursday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre's Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Conrad Hoyt. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn't work, shoot us an email and we'll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE Subscribe today to the Washington Examiner magazine and get Washington Briefing: politics and policy stories that will keep you up to date with what's going on in Washington. SUBSCRIBE NOW: Just $1.00 an issue! HAPPENING TODAY: Former President Donald Trump is leaning into his voluntary surrender to authorities in Georgia on charges that he conspired to overturn the state's 2020 election results. "Nobody has ever fought for election integrity like President Donald J. Trump," Trump posted on Truth Social yesterday. "For doing so, I will proudly be arrested tomorrow afternoon in Georgia." Trump has already been fundraising on the historic event, asking for donations of up to $250 in an email to supporters. "Please make a contribution to peacefully stand with me as I prepare to be wrongfully ARRESTED this Thursday." In his interview with Tucker Carlson last night, Trump bragged that his fourth indictment was only helping his campaign. "Republican-run cities are doing very nicely because they arrest people when you have crimes, and they don't go after political candidates because they think it's good," Trump said. "You know what I mean? It's, like, been amazing. My poll numbers are the highest they've ever had because people understand it." "I will be arraigned at Fulton County Jail – which has been described as a 'humanitarian crisis' and 'a violent jail,' Trump said in his fundraising email, referring to Fani Willis as a "Radical Left District Attorney, who lets violent murderers and TRUE criminals run wild in her city." The booking process is expected to make a small bit of history by producing the first mug shot of a former American president. REPUBLICAN DEBATE: TRUMP TELLS TUCKER CARLSON HIS RIVALS ARE 'WEAK,' 'MANIAC,' AND 'GONZO' NIKKI VS. VIVEK: Last night's Republican presidential debate — sans Trump, whom moderator Bret Baier called "the elephant not in the room" — was frustrating in that the number of participants and the format did not allow for all the candidates to weigh in on all the questions. There was a notably testy exchange between former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy over his outlier views on foreign policy. "The American president needs to have moral clarity. They need to know the difference between right and wrong. They need to know the difference between good and evil," Haley began before zeroing in on Ramaswamy. "The problem that Vivek doesn't understand is he wants to hand Ukraine to Russia. He wants to let China eat Taiwan. He wants to go and stop funding Israel." "False," was all Ramaswamy was able to interject as Haley continued attacking his position that he would cut off aid to Ukraine and force Kyiv to cede territory to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Look what Putin did today. He killed Progozhin," Haley said. "When I was at the U.N., the Russian ambassador suddenly died. This guy is a murderer. And you are choosing a murderer over a pro-American country." "You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows," Haley said in her final zinger. "You know what?" Ramaswamy retorted. "The foreign policy experience that you all have shows in the bogus wars we've gotten into." REPUBLICAN DEBATE: NIKKI HALEY CLAIMED THE SPOTLIGHT AMONG CROWD OF 'SCREAMING MEN' WAR WITH MEXICO: There was also a lot of tough talk about using U.S. troops to cross the southern border to target Mexican drug cartels that are smuggling deadly fentanyl into the U.S. "As president, would you support sending U.S. Special Forces over the border into Mexico to take out fentanyl labs, to take out drug cartel operations? Would you support that kind of American military use?" asked moderator Martha MacCallum. "Yes, and I will do it on day one," said Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). "I'm not going to send troops to Ukraine, but I am going to send them to our southern border. When these drug pushers are bringing fentanyl across the border, that's going to be the last thing they do. We're going to use force, and we're going to leave them stone-cold dead." Former Vice President Mike Pence stressed that the U.S. would need to work with Mexico, not invade it. "I negotiated the remain-in-Mexico policy on behalf of the president of the United States. We got the Mexicans to deploy their national guard to their southern border and to our Southern border as never before," Pence said. "I will engage Mexico the exact same way, and we will partner with the Mexican military, and we will hunt down and destroy the cartels that are claiming lives in the United States of America." PRIGOZHIN'S FATAL FALL FROM GRACE: It's possible that Yevgeny Prigozhin's private plane fell out of the sky in a freak aviation accident. Possible, but that's the least likely explanation for the surprise, but not unexpected, demise of the leader of June's aborted coup against Russian President Vladimir Putin, famously described by CIA Director Bill Burns as "the ultimate apostle of payback." "Putin is someone who generally thinks that revenge is a dish best served cold," Burns said at this year's Aspen Security Forum. We don't know for 100% that Prigozhin, who was on the passenger list, was actually on the private jet that crashed Wednesday, killing all 10 people on board, including Wagner Group founder Dmitry Utkin and other top lieutenants, but for now, he is presumed dead. And few people doubt that Putin was behind it. "When somebody made a military coup that threatened to bring Putin down, I think the die was cast and that from then on, it was just looking for the right opportunity to be able to get back at him," said former CIA director and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on CNN. "It was one of the biggest threats he's faced as a leader in the time that he's been a leader of Russia. And then add to that fact that Putin is KGB. He's the KGB agent who has used vengeance to go after those who have in any way crossed him. So you begin to put all of that evidence together, and as I said, it's not surprising that Prigozhin met this end." "When you look at the approach that Putin has taken in the past, it's basically to allow those that he's targeting to become very comfortable. And I think he did that with Prigozhin. He basically made him feel at home. No kind of retribution would be paid and as he became more comfortable, he became a better target," Panetta said. "The message is loud and clear, and the Russians have made it known that you cross Putin and you're not going to be around very long." The plane went down the same day Russian authorities confirmed the sacking of Gen. Sergei Surovikin, who disappeared following Prigozhin's uprising amid an apparent Kremlin effort to identify complicit military officials. 'WAGNER HAS BEEN BEHEADED': PRIGOZHIN DEEMED 'ASSASSINATED' TWO MONTHS AFTER FAILED COUP SENATORS MEET WITH ZELENSKY: Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on the eve of Ukraine's Independence Day. "Ukraine needs F-16s with well-trained pilots immediately and longer-range artillery like ATACMS to capitalize on the steady gains of the Ukrainian counter-offensive. It may be slow going and difficult, which we knew it would be, but it is solid, steady progress with a real prospect of significant breakthrough," said Blumenthal in a press release after the meeting. "This is a crucial moment. We must extend lend-lease and quickly pass a bold, bipartisan supplemental security package." "Morale among the Ukrainian people is sky high," said Graham. "They have the attitude that they are going to live free and they are willing to die for their freedom … The combat power of the Russian Army has been reduced by 50%. All the while we have not lost one American soldier in Ukraine. The Ukrainians understand you don't end wars by giving territory to the aggressor." REPUBLICAN DEBATE: UKRAINE DISPUTES SHOW WHY MORE FOREIGN POLICY DEBATES ARE NEEDED The RundownWashington Examiner: 'Wagner has been beheaded': Prigozhin deemed 'assassinated' two months after failed coup Washington Examiner: From Russia with shove: Putin critics who have suffered suspicious deaths Washington Examiner: Putin beams at war memorial gala as Wagner chief Prigozhin dies in plane crash Washington Examiner: Taliban's two years in power resulted in more than 200 extrajudicial killings: UN Washington Examiner: Republican debate: Nikki Haley blasts Ramaswamy for 'choosing a murderer' in Putin Washington Examiner: Republican debate: Ukraine disputes show why more foreign policy debates are needed Washington Examiner: Republican debate: The winners and losers of the first GOP showdown Washington Examiner: Republican debate: Trump tells Tucker Carlson his rivals are 'weak,' 'maniac,' and 'gonzo' Washington Examiner: Opinion: UFOs rightly make the debate stage AP: A top Russian general linked to the head of a rebellious mercenary group is reportedly dismissed Reuters: Russia Removes 'General Armageddon' as Air Force Chief after Mutiny-Related Disappearance AP: North Korea Says Its 2nd Attempt to Launch a Spy Satellite Has Failed, Vows 3rd Try Air & Space Forces Magazine: USAF Aircraft from Across Europe Join in on ACE Exercise Air & Space Forces Magazine: F-35 Contracts Worth $1 Billion Will Support Long-Lead Work The War Zone: Taiwan's F-16s Cleared to Receive IRST Targeting Systems Breaking Defense: Indonesia Commits to Buying 'up to 24' F-15EXs from Boeing Defense News: Brazil to Double Air Fleet as Part of $10.6 Billion Investment DefenseScoop: IC, DOD Want to Get Better at Contracting for Commercial Space-Based Data and Analytic Services Military.com: Air Force Lays Out $1.6B Worth of Dorm, Child-Care Development Center Projects Air & Space Forces Magazine: Misawa F-16 Ground Mishap Under Investigation, No Injuries Reported CalendarTHURSDAY | AUGUST 24 10 a.m. — Asia Society Policy Institute virtual discussion: "China's Generative AI and AI Technology Landscape: Advancements, Players, and Policies," with Karen Hao, former tech reporter, Wall Street Journal; Zeyi Yang, tech reporter at MIT Technology Review; Jenny Xiao, partner at Leonis Capital; Qiheng Chen, honorary junior fellow for Chinese economy and technology at ASPI's Center for China Analysis and senior analyst at Compass Lexecon; and Lizzi Lee, honorary junior fellow for Chinese economy at ASPI's Center for China Analysis https://asiasociety.zoom.us/webinar/register 1:30 p.m. — Government Executive Media Group and the Advanced Technology Academic Research Center virtual discussion: "Strengthening Federal Software Infrastructure: Importance of SBOM Compliance Standards," with Senior Master Sgt. William Rouse, section chief of digital infrastructure at the Space Force's Chief of Technology and Innovation Office; Luci Holemans, cybersecurity manager at the Transportation Department's Air Traffic Organization; Elena Peterson, senior cybersecurity researcher at the Energy Department's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Gail Newcomb, information cybersecurity manager at the National Institutes of Health's Office of the Director; Charles Livingston, program manager at the Health and Human Services Department's Continuous Monitoring and Mitigation Program; Kashif Zaidi, director of solution architects at Aqua Security; Chris Hughes, co-founder and chief information security officer at Aquia; and Kiersten Patton, ATARC consultant https://atarc.org/event/sbomstandards FRIDAY | AUGUST 25 8:30 a.m. 1957 E St. NW — George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs conference in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korea alliance and the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Korea, with Seth Bailey, director of the State Department Office of Korean and Mongolian Affairs. RSVP: cdouglass@gwu.edu or gwmedia@gwu.edu TUESDAY | AUGUST 29 8 a.m. 2101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Virginia — National Defense Industrial Association conference: "Emerging Technologies For Defense," with the theme "Delivering New Capabilities to the Warfighter at Speed and Scale," with Maynard Holliday, performing the duties of assistant defense secretary for critical technologies; Heidi Shyu, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering; Jason Rathje, director of the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering's Office of Strategic Capital; Brendan Owens, assistant secretary of defense for energy, installations, and environment; Oliver Fritz, director for operational energy at the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Environment and Energy Resilience; RuthAnne Darling, director for operational energy - innovation at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; Kim Sablon, principal director for trusted AI and autonomy at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; Young Bang, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for acquisitions, logistics, and technology; Amy Smith-Carroll, director for surface warfare at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment; Brad Belzak, director of homeland defense integration at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy; Kimberly Sablon, principal director for trusted AI and autonomy at the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; Lt. Col. John Long, deputy to the Navy chief AI officer at the Office of Naval Research; and Army Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo. RSVP: esocha@ndia.org 9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: "Reviewing the Camp David Trilateral Summit," with Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Tomita Koji; Republic of Korea Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Hyundong; and Kurt Campbell, National Security Council coordinator for Indo-Pacific affairs https://www.csis.org/events/reviewing-camp-david-trilateral-summit 11 a.m. — National Defense Industrial Association National Training and Simulation Association virtual discussion: "Generative AI" https://www.ntsa.org/events/2023/8/30/ntsa-august-webinar/registration 1 p.m. 1100 Longworth — House Foreign Affairs Committee "Roundtable discussion with Abbey Gate Gold Star Families," with Darin Hoover and Kelly Barnett, parents of Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover; Steve Nikoui, father of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui; Coral Briseno, mother of Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez; Alicia and Herman Lopez, parents of Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez; Cheryl Rex, mother of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola; Rick Herrera, father of Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee; Christy Shamblin, mother-in-law of Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee; Paula Knauss Selph, mother of Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Christian Knauss; Greg Page, father of Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page; and Mark and Jaclyn Schmitz, father and stepmother of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz https://www.youtube.com/live WEDNESDAY | AUGUST 30 8 a.m. 2101 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, Virginia — National Defense Industrial Association conference: "Emerging Technologies For Defense," with Steve Wax, performing the duties of assistant defense secretary for science and technology; Lt. Col. Gabriela Arraiz, deputy CTO of the Joint Special Operations Command; Laura Taylor Kale, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy; Dev Shenoy, principal director of microelectronics in the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; and Chris Miller, author of Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology. RSVP: esocha@ndia.org 10:30 a.m. — 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W. — Brookings Institution's Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy and Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology in-person and virtual event: "How much money for defense is enough?" with Michael O'Hanlon, director, Talbott Center; Mackenzie Eaglen, senior fellow, American Enterprise Institute; and Travis Sharp, senior fellow and director of defense budget studies, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments https://connect.brookings.edu/register-to-watch-how-much-money-for-defense | | | "I get the UFO question? Come on, man … I think it's horrible that just because I'm from New Jersey, you ask me about unidentified flying objects and Martians. We're different, but we're not that different."
| Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at last night's GOP presidential debate.
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