| HEGSETH ON THINING ICE: Facing a growing list of alleged discretions — from sexual assault to public drunkenness to fiscal mismanagement concerns — decorated combat veteran Pete Hegseth is fighting to save his nomination as defense secretary with a PR blitz, including a planned appearance on his former, longtime employer, Fox News. Hegseth is also enlisting his mother, Penelope Hegseth, who once accused her son of being someone who "belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego" to also appear on Fox News to explain her damning 2017 email, which she says was written in a burst of "anger and emotion" and it's not how she felt at the time or feels now. Assuming all Senate Democrats vote against Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee can afford to lose only three votes to win confirmation. While many Republicans say they are keeping an open mind, the headwinds against him are approaching gale force. "I'm interested in who Pete Hegseth is today," said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND). "Of course, it's concerning, but I look forward to visiting with Pete about it." Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who disagrees with Hegseth's stated opposition to women serving in combat roles, called the allegations against him "very disturbing." "He obviously has a chance to defend himself here, but some of this stuff is, it's going to be difficult," Graham said. "Good order and discipline is important. Leadership comes from the top. And I want to make sure that every young woman who joins the military feels respected and welcomed." PETE HEGSETH’S FORMER COLLEAGUES DEFEND HIM AGAINST REPORT THAT HIS DRINKING ‘WORRIED’ COWORKERS TRUMP EYES DeSANTIS: What appealed to Trump about Hegseth was his strident criticism of the current military leadership as too woke and overly concerned with their careers, instead of focusing on fighting and winning wars. With Hegseth's nomination in trouble, Trump is reportedly eyeing another culture warrior with a smattering of military service to step in the breach if Hegseth goes down in flames. The Wall Street Journal, citing "people familiar with the discussions" was first to report that Trump is considering Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who served as a Navy lawyer in Iraq and at Guantanamo, as a possible replacement nominee. Other news organizations quickly matched the report. The newspaper said discussions about replacing Hegseth "are in their early stages" and other names have been floated beside DeSantis, who attended a memorial service for fallen law enforcement officers with Trump yesterday in Florida. Among the names cited by the Wall Street Journal are Elbridge Colby, a former Pentagon official and ally of Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who, as a survivor of sexual assault and domestic violence, is also seen as a possible no vote against Hegseth. TRUMP CONSIDERING NOMINATING DESANTIS AS DEFENSE SECRETARY: REPORT TUBERVILLE FOR THE DEFENSE: While many Republicans are being cagey regarding their concerns about Hegseth, and his nomination seems in peril, he has one unabashed champion in the Senate: Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who came to the nominee's defense in an op-ed posted on X. "By nominating Pete Hegseth as the next Secretary of Defense, President Trump answered the call of the American people by nominating someone who is not beholden to the Military Industrial Complex,'" Tuberville writes. "Pete Hegseth will be a leader for everyone serving in the military — not just the military elites. We don't need another Admiral, General, or 'person of high command' interested in appeasing the elites. We need a drill sergeant, someone who's been in the trenches. That man is Pete Hegseth, and he is just the change agent America needs to clean up the DOD." "Over the last four years, we have seen the Biden-Harris administration do all it can to remake the military into a left-wing social experiment at the expense of our national security," he continued. "If we're honest with ourselves, we haven't won a war since World War 2 due to this style of leadership. It could result in even more devastating consequences, especially as the outgoing administration has the United States teetering on the brink of World War 3." "Pete Hegseth will change the disastrous course the DOD has charted under the Biden-Harris regime. He will restore our military to its core mission and bring accountability, true leadership, and fresh ideas to the DOD — and it can't come soon enough." HEGSETH RESIGNED FROM NONPROFIT GROUPS AFTER SEXUAL MISCONDUCT AND FINANCIAL MISMANAGEMENT ALLEGATIONS Good Wednesday 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 Christopher Tremoglie (@chriswtremo). 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 NOTE TO READERS: Daily on Defense will be on Christmas break from Monday, Dec. 23 through Wednesday, Jan. 1. HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is visiting the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he will deliver what amounts to a valedictory speech to the cadet class of 2025. "You can expect the secretary to reflect on his public service career, offer advice to the cadets based on lessons learned from the battlefield, and provide his thoughts on leadership, professionalism and the vital work that the United States Army and our Armed Forces do every day to defend our nation," Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said. BILLIONAIRE INVESTOR OFFERED NO. 2 SPOT AT DOD: President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly offered Stephen Feinberg the important position of deputy defense secretary. Feinberg is a billionaire whose investments in defense companies with Pentagon contracts could pose conflict of interest concerns. The job requires Senate confirmation and often involves heavy involvement in acquisition and defense industrial base issues. Feinberg has not yet accepted the offer, according to the Washington Post, which reported that the offer was made in recent days. The pick is not final until announced by Trump, his aides told the newspaper. WHAT WAS YOON THINKING? South Korea has just been through a head-spinning 24 hours in which President Yoon Suk Yeol declared, and then lifted, martial law, and now faces pressure to resign or be removed from office through impeachment. The short-lived declaration sparked massive protests and saw heavily armed troops encircle parliament buildings in Seoul. Yoon made the surprise pronouncement on television at 10:30 p.m. local time Tuesday, citing the danger posed by "North Korean communist forces" and "antistate forces" and the need to "rebuild and protect" South Korea from "falling into ruin." But six hours later, around 4:30 a.m., the country's National Assembly voted to overrule Yoon, and the declaration was formally lifted. The declaration of martial law — the first since South Korea became a democracy — took Washington by complete surprise. "We are watching recent developments in the ROK [Republic of Korea] with grave concern," said Vedant Patel, deputy spokesman for the State Department. "Every hope and expectation is that any political disputes will be resolved peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law." "To my knowledge, the U.S. was not notified in advance of this announcement," Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at the Pentagon. The U.S. has some 28,000 troops in South Korea, which are treaty-bound to defend the South if the North attacks it. "Our commitment to the alliance and the defense of the ROK is ironclad. We're going to continue to consult with ROK and see how things develop." There's a lot of head-scratching about why Yoon felt compelled to take such a drastic action that could lead to an end to his political career. "Yoon's domestic survivability is uncertain at the moment," wrote Andy Lim, Seiyeon Ji, and Victor Cha of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "While meant as a strong and decisive move by Yoon to preempt political unrest, the rapid mobilization of the legislature to overturn the martial law declaration and a likely outpouring of street protests against a president that is at a 10% approval rating could spell Yoon's demise." SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT AGREES TO END MARTIAL LAW AFTER EMERGENCY PARLIAMENT VOTE A-10 BRRRT OVER SYRIA: Social media was full of videos yesterday of a U.S. Air Force A-10 ground attack plane flying low over Syria. The Pentagon yesterday confirmed that an A-10 took part in a Sunday mission in which U.S. forces successfully destroyed several weapons systems near Military Support Site Euphrates, a U.S.-led coalition base in eastern Syria. "The self-defense strike occurred after the mobile multiple rocket launchers fired rockets that landed in the vicinity of MSS Euphrates and mortars were fired towards U.S. forces," spokesman Ryder said at the Pentagon, identifying the targets as "three truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers, a T-64 tank, and mortars that presented a clear and imminent threat to U.S. and coalition forces." "We're still assessing who is operating these weapons, but do know that there are Iranian-backed militia groups in the area that have conducted attacks on MSS Euphrates in the past," Ryder said, noting that strikes were "in no way related to ongoing operations in and around Aleppo or northwest Syria." AFTER 83 YEARS, ALL ACCOUNTED FOR: The Pentagon has announced that after more than 80 years, it has been able to account for all the sailors and Marines lost when the USS Oklahoma was sunk at Pearl Harbor on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency has been working to identify the remains since 2015, when the USS Oklahoma project began, the Pentagon said in a story on its website. "Scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System have used mitochondrial and autosomal DNA analysis to aid in the process. Advances in that area were not available in the decades after the battleship's sinking." The ship was torpedoed by Japanese planes just before 8 a.m., causing it to capsize just 12 minutes after the first of eight torpedoes hit. Of the 429 crew members who perished, only 35 were identified in the years following the attack. The remains of 394 unidentified others were buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER THE RUNDOWN: Washington Examiner: Hegseth resigned from nonprofit groups after sexual misconduct and financial mismanagement allegations Washington Examiner: Pete Hegseth’s former colleagues defend him against report that his drinking ‘worried’ coworkers Washington Examiner: Trump considering nominating DeSantis as defense secretary: Report Washington Examiner: South Korea under martial law: President accuses opposition of North Korea collusion Washington Examiner: South Korean president agrees to end martial law after emergency parliament vote Washington Examiner: Syrian civil war bursts back into life: Everything to know about the key players Washington Examiner: Putin 'directly authorized' Russian effort to kidnap Ukrainian children Washington Examiner: Thune plans 30-day sprint to pass border and defense bill Washington Examiner: Tuberville advises Trump Pentagon nominee Hegseth to combat allegations Washington Examiner: Jared Moskowitz is first Democrat to join House DOGE Caucus Washington Examiner: Kash Patel target of Iranian hacking effort Washington Examiner: Maryland senators will approve RFK stadium deal in exchange for Air National Guard squadron Washington Examiner: New jihadist offensive in Syria leaves US with no good options, experts say Politico: Trump Picks Billionaire Investor as Pentagon Deputy Task & Purpose: 'Last man out of Afghanistan' promoted to four star general after Senate hold up NBC News: Congress faces shutdown dilemma that could mess with Trump’s first 100 days Task & Purpose: A push to cut veterans' disability benefits is gaining traction, experts warn Breaking Defense: 'It's Not a War Zone': Pentagon Ponders Policy Shifts to Protect Homeland Bases from Drones SpaceNews: Lockheed Martin Challenges Narrative on GPS Vulnerability DefenseScoop: Anduril Wins $100M Deal from CDAO to Scale 'Edge Data Mesh' Capabilities Air & Space Forces Magazine: Years After USAF and Navy Were Told to Up Fighter Readiness, One Fleet Has Done It: F/A-18 DefenseScoop: Northrop Grumman Activates Arctic SATCOM Constellation for Space Force, Norway Air & Space Forces Magazine: A 296-Day Sprint: How the Air Force Brought Back Warrant Officers In Record Time Air Force Times: How an AI-Powered Dashboard Gets Air Force Reservists Deployment-Ready Air & Space Forces Magazine: B-1 Bombers to Relocate from Ellsworth to Grand Forks Starting This Week Vanity Fair: The Storybook Start — and Bitter End — of Pete Hegseth's First Marriage X: Opinion Tommy Ruberville: Pete Hegseth, the Change Agent America Needs to Clean up DOD THE CALENDAR: WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 4 10 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Wilson Center Global Europe Program 2024 Ahtisaari Symposium: “Finland’s Decision to Join NATO,” with former Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/2024-ahtisaari-symposium 12:30 p.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “The State of Israel’s War Against the Resistance Axis,” with former Israeli Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi, founder and chairman of the Israel Defense and Security Forum https://www.hudson.org/events/state-israels-war-against-resistance-axis 1 p.m. N St NW — Aspen Security Forum DC Edition half-day event with Kurt Campbell, deputy secretary of state; Stephen Hadley, former national security adviser; former Rep. Jane Harmon (D-CA), chairwoman, Susan Rice, former national security adviser, Susan Glasser, staff writer, The New Yorker https://www.aspensecurityforum.org/2024-asf-dc 1:30 p.m. 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace discussion: “Project Sapphire at 30: U.S.-Kazakh Cooperation to Reduce Nuclear Threats,” with Kazakhstan Ambassador to the U.S. Yerzhan Ashikbayev; Andy Weber, senior fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks; David Hoffman, author of The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and its Dangerous Legacy; and Togzhan Kassenova, nonresident fellow at the CEIP Nuclear Policy Program https://carnegieendowment.org/events/2024/11/project-sapphire-at-30 THURSDAY | DECEMBER 5 9 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual discussion: "How the Global Strike Command is evolving in an era of peer competition,” with Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event/an-gen-thomas-a-bussiere/ 9:30 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Examining People’s Republic of China Activities in the Arctic,” with Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for Arctic and Global Resilience Iris Ferguson; and Matthew Funaiole, vice president of iDeas Lab https://www.csis.org/events/examining-prc-activities-arctic 10:30 a.m. 419 Dirksen — Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing: " Implementation of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act," with testimony from Adam Keith, senior director of accountability, Human Rights First; and William Browder, chief executive officer, Hermitage Capital Management London (NOTE: no livestream is planned.) https://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/implementation-of-the-global-magnitsky-laws 11 a.m. — Hudson Institute virtual discussion: “Taiwan’s Security Needs for the Next U.S. Administration,” with Miles Yu, director of the Hudson Institute’s China Center; Jason Hsu, Hudson Institute visiting fellow; and Riley Walters, Hudson Institute senior fellow https://www.hudson.org/events/taiwans-security-needs 2:30 p.m. — Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe hearing: “The Role of Belarus in Russia’s Crimes,” with Matvei Kupreichyk, BELPOL public representative; Acting Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis; and Kateryna Rashevska, legal expert at the Regional Center for Human Rights https://www.youtube.com/live/zv3sfwRbv98 4 p.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: " Russo-Ukrainian war," with former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko; and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/a-conversation-with-former-president-of-ukraine FRIDAY | DECEMBER 6 11:30 a.m. 1775 Massachusetts Ave. NW — Brookings Institution and the Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “Where Are US-China Relations Headed?” with House Intelligence ranking member Jim Himes (D-CN) https://www.brookings.edu/events/where-are-us-china-relations-headed 1:30 p.m. — Atlantic Council virtual discussion: “Commanding the Alliance: Perspectives from SACEURs,” with retired Gen. Christopher Cavoli; retired Gen. Philip Breedlove; retired Gen. Wesley Clark; retired Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti; and former U.S. Ambassador to Hungary Colleen Bell https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/commanding-the-alliance 3:30 p.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies virtual discussion: “Airpower and the Indo-Pacific,” with Gen. Kevin Schneider, commander of Pacific Air Forces and air component commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event/an-gen-kevin-b-schneider-24/ | | | | "This is an unlawful and unconstitutional declaration of martial law. The Republic of Korea is a free democracy, and we will protect our democracy with the people." | | Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, condemning Yoon's attempt to impose martial law. |
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