Biden gets major endorsements today

Presented by Northrop Grumman

With Connor O’Brien

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Quick Fix

— Hundreds of retired military leaders and national security veterans from both parties are set to endorse Joe Biden today.

— A temporary spending bill is awaiting a vote in the Senate before government funding runs out next week.

— New legislation would bar federal law enforcement officers from wearing camouflage uniforms so they don’t get confused for the military.

HAPPY THURSDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we're always on the lookout for tips, pitches and feedback. Email us at [email protected], and follow on Twitter @bryandbender, @morningdefense and @politicopro.

On the Hill

WAITING ON THE SENATE: Stopgap funding legislation to avert a government shutdown is waiting on action in the Senate. The continuing resolution, which would keep the government funded through Dec. 11, easily passed the House on Tuesday after Democrats and Republicans hammered out a deal to include funding for nutrition assistance and trade relief for farmers. It also includes provisions important to the defense sector.

The Senate has yet to schedule a vote, but Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he aims to hold a vote on the CR "as soon as we can." Should senators strike an agreement, a vote could come as soon as today.

If a CR vote slips to next week, senators could be pushing the limits of the funding deadline. The Senate isn’t scheduled to be in session until Wednesday, the last day of the fiscal year.

Checking out early: The Senate may call it quits at the end of this week if it approves a CR, despite an impasse over coronavirus relief legislation and a looming Supreme Court fight, POLITICO's Marianne LeVine reports. Senate Majority Whip John Thune said the chamber may adjourn and return if a pandemic relief deal is struck or for a vote on a nominee to succeed the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

On the defense side, an early recess would essentially guarantee that lawmakers won't formally start final negotiations on the annual National Defense Authorization Act.

House Armed Services Chair Adam Smith and Senate Armed Services Chair Jim Inhofe have both expressed doubts that formal talks would start this month. Nonetheless, committee staffers are already hashing out many of the differences in the House and Senate bills.

‘AMERICAN CITIES AREN’T BATTLEFIELDS’: A group of Democratic senators on Wednesday introduced legislation to ban federal law enforcement officers from wearing camouflage uniforms in the United States, our colleague Lara Seligman reports.

The "Clear Visual Distinction Between Military and Law Enforcement Act” is needed after federal agents in camouflage "blurred the lines between military service members and law enforcement officers while causing even more fear and division,” explained Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who is co-sponsoring the legislation with Ron Wyden and Tim Kaine.

"American cities aren’t battlefields and law enforcement must act and be equipped accordingly," Wyden said.

The bill would allow for "rare circumstances" when federal officers might require camouflage to match the surrounding environment, Kaine said. But the legislation would demand "rigorous oversight" of any such exception, he stressed.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley also expressed concern this summer about law enforcement officers operating domestically being confused with military forces. “You want a clear definition between that which is military, and that which is police in my view," Milley told lawmakers in July.

Related: Acting DHS chief's confirmation hearing brings pointed questioning, via The Wall Street Journal.

Happening Today

ESPER, MILLEY TOWN HALL: Esper, Milley and Ramón "CZ" Colón-López, Milley’s senior enlisted adviser, will co-host a virtual town hall at 10 a.m. The event will be streamed live on the Pentagon website and the department’s Facebook page. It will be the first time Esper takes questions in public since July.

Intelligence Community

TRUMP TAPS NEW INTEL WATCHDOG: Trump has nominated Allen Souza, a staffer for the National Security Council and former aide to top House Intelligence Committee Republican Devin Nunes, to be the next inspector general of the intelligence community. The move comes after the last Senate-confirmed IG, Michael Atkinson, was fired in April.

"Trump had fumed about Atkinson for months after he informed Congress about the whistleblower complaint regarding Trump's dealings with Ukraine that ultimately led to his impeachment," reports CNN. "This spring the Trump administration purged several inspectors general from their posts and rejected requests from Republicans for more information on the removals."

2020 Watch

‘THE BUCK STOPS HERE’: A group of nearly 500 former national security leaders from both parties, including 200 retired generals and admirals, are endorsing Joe Biden for president today, calling him an honest and experienced leader who can tackle the nation’s historic challenges and restore American leadership.

Among them are a number of high-profile Republicans, including Eric Edelman, who served as undersecretary of defense for policy in the George W. Bush administration.

“We love our country. Unfortunately, we also fear for it,” the 489 signatories, calling themselves National Security Leaders for Biden. write in an open letter. "The COVID-19 pandemic has proven America needs principled, wise, and responsible leadership. America needs a president who understands, as President Harry S. Truman said, that ‘the buck stops here.’”

“We know Joe Biden has the experience and wisdom necessary to navigate America through a painful time,” they continued. “He has grappled with America’s most difficult foreign policy challenges for decades, learning what works — and what does not — in a dangerous world. He is knowledgeable, but he also knows that listening to diverse and dissenting views is essential, particularly when making tough decisions concerning our national security.”

“While some of us may have different opinions on particular policy matters,” they added, “we trust Joe Biden’s positions are rooted in sound judgment, thorough understanding, and fundamental values.”

Related: Why these generals can't lecture us about morals and truth, via Responsible Statecraft.

‘BIG BETS’: We recently caught up with one of the letter’s signatories, Michèle Flournoy, who is widely considered to be on the shortlist for secretary of defense in a potential Biden administration, about what she thinks the Pentagon needs to do to outpace China technologically.

"The next administration is going to have to turn the crank again and try to get farther down this road, faster," Flournoy told us in the latest POLITICO Pro Q&A. "It's about making a series of big bets, investing in new technologies that we think will better safeguard that future advantage."

And that also means reassessing the overhaul of the nuclear arsenal, which makes up a growing share of the Pentagon's modernization budget.

"No matter how you slice it, some significant portion of the force will be platforms that we recognize today," she said. "It's finding a balance between the major defense acquisition programs that are already in the budget and the cutting-edge capabilities that we need to add into the mix to ensure that those systems stay relevant."

Flournoy also spoke of the need to “re-forge” the Pentagon’s relationship with Congress and why it's important to recruit the right team. “This is a really big, really hard project and it's really, really important,” she said. “And the risks of failure are unacceptable. It’s something that will take a team of people working as a team, each delivering on different aspects of the plan to make this work.”

Related: Progressives slam Biden’s foreign policy team, via The Nation.

And: Cindy McCain endorses Joe Biden for president, via ABC News.

Industry Intel

TRUMP ORDER SETS OFF A SCRAMBLE: Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order banning federal contractors from conducting “any form of race or sex stereotyping,” a move expressly designed to stifle any diversity training that discusses the controversial notion that racism is fueled by “white privilege” bestowed by society. The order also stipulates that contractors that failed to comply “may be declared ineligible for further Government contracts.”

An earlier Sept. 4 memo barring such training in the executive branch has already led the Air Force to cancel some contracts for diversity training.

But what does it mean for defense contractors? The short answer is no one is sure, our colleague Jacqueline Feldscher reports.

Eric Fanning, president and CEO of the Aerospace Industries Association, told Morning D that whatever the implications, “aerospace and defense companies are committed to strengthening the diversity and inclusion in our industry, which includes trainings for our employees.”

“While we are evaluating the impact the recent executive order has on our industry,” he added, “our companies stand firm in building environments that are welcoming to people from all communities and encourage the diverse talent that is critical to our success.”

Under the order, federal contractors and subcontractors must report details of their diversity training. A request for information to collect the data is expected to be published within 30 days.

Speed Read

— CIA clamps down on flow of Russia intelligence to White House: POLITICO

— Ex-NSA official who reviewed Bolton book expresses concern about ‘politicization’ of pre-publication process: Fox News

— Possible missile carrier spotted at North Korea parade practice, think tank says: Reuters

— European army plans face battlefield reality in Africa: The Wall Street Journal

— U.S. Army grounds upgraded Boeing helicopters: Bloomberg

— Air Force, SpaceX mum about sky-high rocket costs: Roll Call

— Navy declassifies 300 pages on 1963 Thresher disaster, via Military.com

— BOOK REVIEW: The Folly and the Glory: The New York Times