Iraq News Now

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Quick Fix

— A Senate committee vote on repealing the 2002 Iraq War authorization has been put off as Republicans seek a hearing and classified briefing on the issue.

— An independent commission set up to study sexual assault and harassment in the military has delivered its final recommendations to the defense secretary.

— Boeing’s top lobbyist has left after more than a decade at the aerospace giant.

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On the Hill

AUMF VOTE DELAYED: A planned committee vote on legislation to repeal the nearly 20-year-old authorization for the Iraq War has been put off amid calls by Republicans for further consultation with diplomatic and national security officials on the impact of taking it off the books.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee was slated to vote this afternoon on bipartisan legislation, offered by Sens. Tim Kaine and Todd Young, to repeal the 2002 Iraq authorization as well as the 1991 Gulf War authorization. But several committee Republicans requested a holdover of the AUMF repeal vote, and SFRC Chair Bob Menendez granted the request, committee spokesperson Juan Pachon confirmed to POLITICO.

It is unclear when the committee will vote on the war powers legislation, though a second business meeting is scheduled for Thursday.

GOP resistance: Five Republicans on the committee fired off a letter urging Menendez to put off a markup of the legislation. The group is seeking a public hearing with the secretaries of state and defense and outside experts as well as a classified briefing from Pentagon, diplomatic and intelligence officials before a vote.

"We should fully evaluate the conditions on the ground, the implications of repealing the 2002 AUMF for our friends, and how adversaries — including ISIS and Iranian backed militia groups — would react," they argued. "It is also important to consider the policy and potential legal consequences of our reduced presence in the region and the impending withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan."

The missive — signed by Sens. Mitt Romney, Mike Rounds, Marco Rubio, Ron Johnson and Bill Hagerty — suggests repealing the Iraq AUMF, passed in the run-up to the U.S. toppling Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, won't be all smooth sailing despite bipartisan support.

The comments echo those of House Republicans who largely opposed a similar repeal bill that passed last week. Though more than four dozen Republicans backed the effort, many GOP lawmakers warned that the process needed more careful study, including classified briefings, and that the Iraq War AUMF should be replaced with a newer legal framework rather than just repealed.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has also come out against a straight repeal of the authorization. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, has pledged to hold a vote on the legislation on the Senate floor this year.

SHIP DEFENSE: Top Navy and Marine leaders testify this morning at the Senate Armed Services Committee. Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday and Marine Commandant Gen. David Berger are set to defend the services' proposed budget.

Navy brass will likely take heat from shipbuilding advocates over a slimmed-down fleet plan sent to Congress last week, which calls for a range of 398 to 512 ships. The report is effectively a placeholder as the Pentagon reviews the overall defense strategy that will inform the Navy plans and budgets. (Background on the Navy's report here.)

Still, the report leaves several open questions, including costs and time frames for achieving the fleet options laid out by the service.

Already, Navy brass have taken flak from lawmakers for requesting a lower shipbuilding budget than Congress allocated for the current year and for leaving a destroyer out of its budget request as a cost-saving measure.

Related: Fights over money, ships, and planes set to lead defense debates, via Bloomberg.

Also: U.S. Navy’s deadliest new subs are hobbled by spare parts woes, via Bloomberg.

ALSO TODAY: Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville testify at a Senate Defense Appropriations hearing on the service’s budget at 10 a.m.

And the Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee holds a hearing with Air Force officials on the service's modernization efforts in the budget at 2:30 p.m.

Pentagon

SEXUAL ASSAULT RECOMMENDATIONS: An independent commission set up by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to study sexual assault and harassment in the military has wrapped up its 90-day review, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Monday. The task force provided Austin with the balance of its recommendations on Monday to review and consult with military leadership.

"He'll take some time to review those recommendations and he'll want to make sure that he gets, as he had before … the military departments and the Chairman [of the Joint Chiefs] time to provide their feedback as well," Kirby said.

The commission had previously briefed Austin on its initial recommendations to combat sexual assault in the ranks, most notably that decisions to prosecute sex crimes should be handled by military prosecutors rather than commanders.

PENTAGON SECRECY: Forty-five national security and transparency advocacy groups are urging lawmakers to thwart a Pentagon push to expand the unclassified information about military operations that it can keep secret.

The Pentagon has proposed, as part of its annual legislative request to Congress, that it withhold unclassified, but sensitive, information about military tactics, procedures, rules for the use of force, and other information from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act if it "could reasonably be expected to provide an operational military advantage to an adversary."

In a letter to leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees, advocates slammed the Pentagon push, which they said would "create an unnecessary and broad carve-out to public disclosure laws."

"Accountability and transparency are particularly important for the Pentagon, the largest executive branch agency with the largest discretionary budget," they wrote. "Because of the potential long-lasting effects on the public’s access to information, we urge you to reject this proposal."

HAPPENING TODAY

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace kicks off day one of its 2021 nuclear policy conference at 9 a.m.

Missile Defense Agency director Vice Adm. Jon Hill discusses MDA's programs, priorities and budget at the Center for Strategic and International Studies at 10 a.m.

Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks and other Pentagon officials speak at the opening session of the 2021 Department of Defense Artificial Intelligence Symposium and Tech Exchange.

Industry Intel

BOEING LOBBYIST OUT: Tim Keating, Boeing’s top lobbyist, has left the company, POLITICO's Theodoric Meyer reports for Pros.

Marc Allen, Boeing’s chief strategy officer, will succeed Keating on an interim basis “effective immediately,” David Calhoun, Boeing’s president and CEO, wrote in an email Monday to the company’s managers and its government operation team.

A Boeing spokesperson confirmed that Keating had left but declined to comment on the circumstances of his departure. Keating had worked for Boeing for more than a decade. He was promoted in 2018 to executive vice president for government operations, overseeing all of the company’s U.S. lobbying operations.

Making Moves

Doug Philippone, head of global defense at Palantir and a former Army Ranger, has co-founded Snowpoint Ventures, a venture capital firm aimed at helping the next generation of U.S.-based companies navigate the challenges and risks of creating disruptive technologies for government and commercial use.

Speed Read

— After Capitol riot indictment, Marine major remains at his Quantico job: Military.com

— Biden's defense budget is a big win for hypersonic weapons contractors: The Intercept

— Iran president-elect takes hard line, refuses to meet Biden: The Associated Press

— U.S. imposes sanctions on Belarus in response to forced landing of Ryanair flight: POLITICO

— Pentagon to reveal JEDI cloud computing contract’s future in coming weeks: C4ISRNet

— U.S., South Korea consider ending controversial North Korea coordinating group: Reuters

— Marines explain vision for fewer traditional amphibious warships, supplemented by new light amphib: Defense News