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Mark Satter

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Reps. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., right, and Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., are seen after the last votes of the week on Sept. 14.

Defense appropriations rule goes down, again

By Mark Satter
Posted September 21, 2023 at 11:49am
Alabama Republicans, including Sen. Tommy Tuberville, blasted the Biden administration's Space Command basing decision.

Space Command stays in Colorado, infuriating Alabama delegation

By Mark Satter
Posted July 31, 2023 at 6:09pm
Members of Colorado's delegation maintain that House Armed Services Chairman Mike D. Rogers is holding up DOD reprogramming requests to force a decision on where to headquarter U.S. Space Command.

HASC hold on DOD reprogramming draws ire of Colorado Dems

By Mark Satter
Posted July 13, 2023 at 4:14pm
Former Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper requires around-the-clock security because of threats from Iran stemming from his time leading the Pentagon, according to the Biden administration.

Iran threat prods DOD to seek more security for former officials

By Mark Satter
Posted July 11, 2023 at 4:13pm
The Pentagon may soon send around 1,500 troops to the southern border.

Pentagon OKs request to send troops to border

By Mark Satter and Suzanne Monyak
Posted May 2, 2023 at 1:04pm
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., called for more funding for the Pentagon's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, which examines reports of UFOs.

Gillibrand looks to bolster UFO office budget

By Mark Satter
Posted April 19, 2023 at 6:49pm
GOP Reps. Gaetz (left) and Greene, seen on the House floor on Jan. 5, have both introduced resolutions opposing additional security aid to Ukraine.

Congress turns attention to oversight of Ukraine aid

By Mark Satter
Posted February 27, 2023 at 4:10pm
Sen. Jim Risch arrives Tuesday for a classified briefing on unidentified objects shot down by the military. He said afterward that the objects were flying in a high-altitude band that hadn’t previously drawn much attention from the world’s militaries.

Information trickles out about downing of flying objects

By Mark Satter
Posted February 14, 2023 at 2:44pm
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley took office in January 2019.

Hawley’s departure from Armed Services draws speculation

By Mark Satter
Posted February 8, 2023 at 7:44pm
North Carolina Republican Dan Bishop nominates Florida's Byron Donalds for speaker on Thursday. Florida Republican Matt Gaetz applauds.

Another day, similar result: Adjournment with no speaker

By Aidan Quigley, Lindsey McPherson, Niels Lesniewski, Mark Satter and Jessie Hellmann
Posted January 5, 2023 at 1:35pm, Updated at 8:42pm
Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz conduct a news conference on Ukraine funding on Thursday.

GOP faction signals tougher fight for Ukraine aid ahead

By Mark Satter
Posted November 17, 2022 at 6:39pm
Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, is one of 12 Democratic senators who highlighted the impact of affirmative action on national security in a brief filed with the Supreme Court.

An unusual argument for affirmative action: national security

By Mark Satter
Posted November 2, 2022 at 11:15am
The administration is seeking new authority regarding supplying weapons to Ukraine: a Critical Munitions Acquisition Fund. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis, above, want a munitions fund to serve a broader purpose than restocking shelves emptied by the Ukraine effort.

White House seeks more Ukraine weapons support in Senate NDAA

By Mark Satter
Posted October 18, 2022 at 7:30pm
Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., left, and ranking member Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-Okla., unveiled their revised NDAA bill with dozens of amendments included.

Senate NDAA debate could have something for everyone

By John M. Donnelly and Mark Satter
Posted October 13, 2022 at 3:00pm
House Foreign Affairs Republican leader Michael McCaul of Texas, right, in 2021 talks with a member of the U.S. military who was born Afghanistan and still has family in the country.

House Republicans ramp up pressure over Afghanistan exit

By Mark Satter
Posted August 15, 2022 at 11:35am, Updated at 6:05pm
An amendment from Rep. Mike Quigley would authorize the hiring and international deployment of 50 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement attachés to disrupt illegal wildlife trafficking abroad.

NDAA a magnet for far-reaching amendments

By Mark Satter
Posted July 18, 2022 at 5:34pm
The Pentagon policy bill, enacted into law annually for 61 years, would authorize money for the Defense Department and national security programs within the Department of Energy.

House easily passes NDAA

By Mark Satter
Posted July 14, 2022 at 9:09pm
Gillibrand credited a lobbying campaign by veterans and their families with winning over lawmakers.

Senate passes major benefits expansion for sick veterans

By Mark Satter
Posted June 16, 2022 at 2:40pm
The Biden administration wants to reduce the number of Army soldiers by 12,000 in fiscal 2023.

Armed Services Committee plans 4.6 percent military pay raise

By Mark Satter
Posted June 7, 2022 at 3:30pm
Comedian and activist Jon Stewart lobbied on Capitol Hill last year for legislation to help veterans sickened by toxic chemicals.

Toxic exposure bill would rewrite America’s compact with veterans

By Mark Satter
Posted June 3, 2022 at 6:01am
A congressional commission has proposed changing the name of Fort Hood in Texas, which now honors a Confederate general, for Richard Cavazos, the first Hispanic four-star general.

Commission proposes new names for bases that now honor Confederates

By Mark Satter
Posted May 24, 2022 at 6:55pm
Somalis cover the victim of an al-Shabab terrorist attack at a restaurant in Mogadishu in 2017.

Biden orders U.S. troops back to Somalia

By Mark Satter
Posted May 16, 2022 at 2:15pm
A new Ukraine aid bill would help the Pentagon replenish its stocks of Javelin missiles, which are made by U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin.

Ukraine aid bill has billions for Pentagon, arms makers

By Mark Satter
Posted May 10, 2022 at 5:30pm
California Democratic Rep. Jimmy Panetta says Democratic leaders' plan to pair Ukraine aid with COVID-19 funding could slow help to Kyiv.

Biden sends Ukraine aid bill, but Democrats divide on strategy

By Mark Satter
Posted April 29, 2022 at 3:58pm
Navy Adm. Charles Richard wrote to lawmakers this month to warn that the U.S. faces a "deterrence and assurance gap" in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Military brass undercuts Biden budget by requesting billions more

By Mark Satter, John M. Donnelly and Andrew Clevenger
Posted April 6, 2022 at 7:15pm
A Humvee is seen near the temporary military base for U.S. troops established at the Arlamow Airport in Poland on February 23, 2022. U.S. troops arrived as reinforcements for its NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

Omnibus includes $183 million to make Humvees safer to drive

By Mark Satter
Posted March 15, 2022 at 5:35pm, Updated March 22, 2022 at 9:20am
Under a deal proposed by Poland, it would have received American F-16 fighters after sending its own Russian-made jets to Ukraine.

Bipartisan blowback for Biden’s quashing of jet transfer to Ukraine

By Mark Satter
Posted March 10, 2022 at 3:32pm
Ukrainians fled Kyiv as Russia invaded their country.

The consensus against using force holds, despite Russia’s invasion

By Mark Satter
Posted February 24, 2022 at 3:43pm
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, pictured at a 2021 news conference, compared Chaudhary's proposal to surveil troops to China's repression of Uyghur Muslims.

Republicans blast Air Force nominee’s proposal to surveil troops

By Mark Satter
Posted February 17, 2022 at 2:39pm
The compound in Atmeh, Syria, where the Pentagon says ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi killed himself.

In killing ISIS leader, US delivers from over the horizon

By Mark Satter
Posted February 3, 2022 at 4:19pm
Troops from Fort Bragg, N.C., are pictured before heading to the Middle East for a 2020 deployment. The Pentagon says it will send a total of 2,000 troops currently stationed at Fort Bragg to Poland and Germany.

Biden deploys troops to Eastern Europe

By Mark Satter
Posted February 2, 2022 at 11:25am, Updated at 3:20pm
Ukrainian volunteers train on Jan. 22 in Kyiv.

Pentagon readies troops for possible deployment to Europe

By Mark Satter
Posted January 24, 2022 at 4:17pm
A sign welcomes people to the Catawba Indian Nation’s reservation near Rock Hill, S.C., in April 2019.

The strange case of the casino, the Senate leader and the defense bill

By Mark Satter
Posted January 12, 2022 at 5:01am
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar chairs the panel in charge of Senate security.

Congress moves to ease National Guard defense of the Capitol

By Mark Satter
Posted December 14, 2021 at 2:15pm, Updated at 9:26am
Lawmakers in both chambers had backed a provision to the defense bill requiring women to register for the draft, but it was removed without explanation in advance of House passage.

GOP claims victory in final defense policy bill

By Mark Satter
Posted December 8, 2021 at 4:56pm
Congress would bar the Pentagon from retiring the older, A-10 Thunderbolt for one year.

House passes compromise defense policy bill

By Andrew Clevenger, Mark Satter and John M. Donnelly
Posted December 7, 2021 at 4:02pm, Updated at 9:58pm
House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy said he opposed tying a debt limit increase to the defense bill.

Defense bill delayed as controversial provisions jettisoned

By Mark Satter and John M. Donnelly
Posted December 6, 2021 at 8:34pm
Russian tanks move toward Ukraine amidst the 2014 invasion of Crimea.

Biden will warn Putin of ‘consequences’ for invading Ukraine

By Mark Satter
Posted December 6, 2021 at 2:24pm
Senate Armed Services Chairman Jack Reed has pledged to work with his GOP counterpart on the committee, James M. Inhofe, to secure a deal on the defense policy bill.

Republicans delay votes on defense bill

By Mark Satter
Posted November 29, 2021 at 7:47pm
Sen. Tim Kaine is seeking a vote on his amendment to end the 2002 authorization for the use of military force against Iraq.

Senate pushes action on defense bill to after Thanksgiving

By Andrew Clevenger and Mark Satter
Posted November 19, 2021 at 3:09pm
Sen. Jack Reed has narrowed the list of amendments to his defense policy bill that will get Senate votes.

Defense bill stalled in Senate over amendment dispute

By Mark Satter
Posted November 18, 2021 at 11:13pm
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., said Tuesday she will not seek reelection.

California’s Jackie Speier won’t run for another term

By Stephanie Akin and Mark Satter
Posted November 16, 2021 at 10:20am, Updated at 12:00pm
A KC-10 tanker refuels an E/A-6B Prowler over the Persian Gulf in 1999.

Senate to begin defense policy debate with Biden on the sidelines

By Mark Satter
Posted November 15, 2021 at 4:41pm
Oklahoma Sen. James M. Inhofe says foreign threats make it imperative that Democrats bring the annual defense policy bill to the Senate floor soon.

Schumer’s delay on defense policy bill prompts bipartisan gripes

By Mark Satter
Posted November 2, 2021 at 2:10pm, Updated at 4:21pm
A California National Guard soldier searches a home burned in a forest fire in Santa Rosa, Calif., in 2017.

Pentagon, intelligence agencies detail climate threat to security

By Mark Satter
Posted October 21, 2021 at 3:21pm
Rioters stand on a U.S. Capitol Police armored vehicle as others take over the steps of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Hearing on extremism in the military prompts partisan broadsides

By Mark Satter
Posted October 13, 2021 at 3:38pm
A Defense Department vaccine site at Fort Knox, Ky., last month.

Pentagon civilian vaccine mandate is a massive logistical lift

By Mark Satter
Posted October 7, 2021 at 4:06pm
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Sept. 28.

Pentagon says debt ceiling breach could halt payments to survivors

By Mark Satter
Posted October 6, 2021 at 1:01pm, Updated at 5:22pm
Women seeking to join the Marine Corps train at Parris Island, S.C., in 2013.

Congress moves toward requiring women to register for the draft

By Mark Satter
Posted October 5, 2021 at 5:01am
Florida GOP Rep. Vern Buchanan has sought safety improvements after a constituent died in an Army training accident.

Defense policy bill aims to reduce training accidents

By Mark Satter
Posted September 27, 2021 at 2:09pm