Republican U.S. Reps Urge Defense Department to End Military Vaccine Mandate

A group of 47 members of Congress are urging the Secretary of the Department of Defense to “immediately revoke” the COVID-19 vaccine mandate he issued last August for all service members, civilian personnel, and contractors. They’ve also asked him to re-instate those who’ve already been discharged for noncompliance.

In a Sept. 15 letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, they wrote “to express our grave concern over the effect of the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on the readiness of our Armed Forces, particularly the U.S. Army.

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Biden Announces ‘Devastating’ Sanctions and Deployment of 7,000 Additional Troops to Europe

Joe Biden announced on Thursday that an additional 7,000 U.S. troops will be deployed to Germany, bringing the total of U.S. troops sent to Europe this month to 12,000. On February 2, 1,700 troops were ordered to Poland, and 300 to Germany. Another 3,000 troops were added to Poland on Feb. 11, as the crisis loomed.

The U.S. forces are being deployed to bolster NATO’s defenses as Russia continues its military incursion into Ukraine.

Speaking from the East Room of the White House, Biden stressed that U.S. soldiers will not be going to Ukraine and will not be fighting Russian troops.

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Federal Judge Upholds Vaccine Mandate for Oklahoma National Guard

On Tuesday, a district court judge ruled against the state of Oklahoma in its effort to block the coronavirus vaccine mandate for members of the state’s National Guard, The Hill reports.

U.S. District Judge Stephen Friot explained his reasoning in a 29-page ruling, in which he rejected a motion filed by Governor Kevin Stitt (R-Okla.) and Attorney General John O’Connor (R-Okla.) to indefinitely block the mandate; Judge Friot claimed that the plaintiffs’ claim was “without merit.”

“The court is required to decide this case on the basis of federal law, not common sense,” said Friot in his ruling. “But, either way, the result would be the same. The claims asserted by the Governor and his co-plaintiffs are without merit.”

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Defense Bill Sails Through the House with $24 Billion Increase

Supreme Court and Capitol building

The House late Thursday passed the National Defense Authorization Act after a marathon day of voting on hundreds of amendments as Congress continues work toward a government funding bill with a potential shutdown one week away.

The $768 billion defense bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, with 316 lawmakers voting in favor. It now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to pass and soon after become law as it has yearly for nearly six decades.

It provides an additional $24 billion for the defense department compared to last year’s legislation, an amount touted by both Washington Democratic Rep. Adam Smith and Alabama Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, the House Armed Services Committee’s chair and ranking member.

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Chief Diversity Officer Who Compared Trump to Hitler Reinstated After Defense Department Investigation

Richard Torres-Estrada

The US Special Operations Command reinstated its head of diversity on Thursday after an investigation concluded he did not violate any Defense Department policies in a series of controversial Facebook posts.

Richard Torres-Estrada was named Chief of Diversity & Inclusion for the Defense Department’s US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in March, but was reassigned pending an investigation into his social media activity, which included a post comparing then-president Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler.

The investigation found that Torres-Estrada’s posts violated no Defense Department (DoD) policies and he could return to his job, Military Times reported Thursday.

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Biden’s Cyber Nominee Is on Board of Think Tank Founded by Spygate Professor Stefan Halper

Joe Biden and John Inglis

President Joe Biden’s pick for national cyber director is on the advisory board of an intelligence think tank co-founded by Stefan Halper, the longtime political operative who worked as a confidential human source for the FBI during its investigation into the Trump campaign.

Chris Inglis, the former deputy director of the National Security Agency, was nominated for the cyber role on Monday, the Associated Press reported.

“We are determined to protect America’s networks and to meet the growing challenge posed by our adversaries in cyberspace — and this is the team to do it,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in an announcement of the nomination.

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Pentagon Promotes Radical Resources to Kill ‘Extremism in Ranks’

The Defense Department is promoting reading resources on opposing “systemic racism” that include radical authors as part of a program to combat extremism within the ranks of the military.  

In a virtual meeting for “all hands” last month, the agenda—obtained by The Daily Signal—counted the scandal-plagued Southern Poverty Law Center as a credible resource alongside the Department of Homeland Security and the University of Maryland. 

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Troops Fear SecDef Austin’s Stand-Down Will Single Out One Form of Extremism, Ignore Others

The pending military stand-down to address “extremism in the ranks” may bring results that go beyond what Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expected to achieve, according to active duty service members who are scheduled to attend the mandatory sessions.

Austin on Friday ordered all uniformed and civilian leaders in the Defense Department to set aside a day soon to discuss “impermissible behaviors” related to extremism.

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Pentagon Estimates D.C. Security Costs at Nearly $1 Billion by March 15

The Defense Department estimates the National Guard deployment at the Capitol through March 15 will cost nearly $483 million, in addition to $500 million it has already spent, Fox News reported Monday.

Approximately 26,000 National Guard troops from across the country were sent to Washington D.C. after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. The number has gradually reduced, however there are still more than 7,000 troops guarding the Capitol building with plans to gradually decrease its presence through the end of March, to fewer than 3,000 troops, according to Fox News.

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Rep. Green Calls for ‘Permanent Solution to the Border Crisis’

  U.S. Rep. Dr. Mark Green (R-TN-07) on Monday called for a “permanent solution to the border crisis.” Green, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, made his statement in regard to both the Senate and House, which reportedly are working on bills simultaneously to bring humanitarian relief to the ongoing border crisis. According to both a press release and a tweet, Green said, “Whatever Congress passes must include a permanent solution to the border crisis. We must fix our legal loopholes. Via the president’s emergency declaration, we are getting the physical wall built. But we need to build a legal wall by fixing the loopholes.” Whatever Congress passes must include a permanent solution to the border crisis. We must fix our legal loopholes. Via the president's emergency declaration, we are getting the physical wall built. But we need to build a legal wall by fixing the loopholes. https://t.co/bPr4wduKTC — Rep. Mark Green (@RepMarkGreen) June 24, 2019 The report that Green referenced was from The Hill, which said President Donald Trump’s $4.5 billion border spending request is facing obstacles in differences between the Senate and House versions. The bills are similar on the amount of funding but differ on…

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US Senate Committee Unveils 2020 Defense Policy Bill

  The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday unveiled a draft $750 billion defense policy bill that would authorize more Lockheed Martin F-35 jets for the United States and effectively end Turkey’s partnership in the program if Ankara pursues a plan to buy a Russian missile defense system. In March, U.S. President Donald Trump requested $750 billion for defense, a budget that included more money to build ships and buy jets. In the coming weeks the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, controlled by Democrats, will release its own version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which must be reconciled with the version in the Republican-controlled Senate before it can be passed. Because it sets policy for the Defense Department, the annual NDAA is one of the few bills that Congress passes every year. Because it has become law every year for more than half a century, lawmakers use it as a vehicle for a wide range of policy measures. This year, the Senate version of the bill would authorize spending on eight F-15X fighter jets as the current aging fleet of about 234 jets is getting more expensive to operate. The defense arm of aircraft maker…

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New Pentagon Transgender Rule Sets Limits for Troops

The Defense Department has approved a new policy that will largely bar transgender troops and military recruits from transitioning to another sex, and require most individuals to serve in their birth gender. The memo outlining the new policy was obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, and it comes after a lengthy and complicated legal battle. It falls short of the all-out transgender ban that was initially ordered by President Donald Trump. But it will likely force the military to eventually discharge transgender individuals who need hormone treatments or surgery and can’t or won’t serve in their birth gender. The order says the military services must implement the new policy in 30 days, giving some individuals a short window of time to qualify for gender transition if needed. And it allows service secretaries to waive the policy on a case-by-case basis. Under the new rules, currently serving transgender troops and anyone who has signed an enlistment contract by April 12 may continue with plans for hormone treatments and gender transition if they have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. But after April 12, no one with gender dysphoria who is taking hormones or has transitioned to another gender will be allowed to…

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DOD IG Reveals the Pentagon Let $27.7 Billion ‘Expire’ as Trump Seeks $5.7 Billion in Border Wall Funding

by Andrew Kerr   The Defense Department has relinquished over $27 billion to the U.S. Treasury since 2013 simply because it couldn’t spend the money quick enough, according to a DOD Inspector General report released Tuesday. The DOD was required to fork over the “expired funds” because the Pentagon failed to spend it “within the legal timeframes,” according to the report. The revelation comes as President Donald Trump is considering declaring a state of emergency that would allow him to bypass Congress and leverage unobligated military funds to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The partial shutdown of the federal government entered its 19th day on Wednesday as Trump remains steadfast in his demand for $5.7 billion in border wall funding from Congress. Democrats, in turn, say they won’t negotiate with the president on the wall until the government reopens. Legal analysts say Trump would have the authority to leverage unused DOD funds to construct a wall in the event he declares a national emergency. “My instinct is to say that if he declares a national emergency and uses this pot of unappropriated money for the wall, he’s on very solid legal ground,” Harvard law professor Mark Tushnet told…

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Commentary: Stop Diverting Our Defense Dollars To Sex Change Surgery

  by ConservativeHQ.com Staff Last week, the House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2018 (“NDAA”) without incorporating a policy that ensures that limited military resources are not be used for sex-reassignment surgery and other gender transition efforts for service members. Next week, the House will vote on the Make America Secure Appropriations Act, which will provide a large increase in funding for the Department of Defense. Our friends at the Family Research Council have asked us to join them in encouraging conservative activists across the country to contact their Representatives to demand that they stop diverting our defense dollars to Bradley Chelsea Manning sex change surgery. Taxpayer dollars need to be protected from funding non-essential sex-change surgery and hormone therapy efforts intended to change a person’s gender. Estimates for these efforts, including the amount of time lost for the transition process, are about $3.7 billion over the next ten years. This is an irresponsible use of taxpayer funds. With the costs estimated for sex-reassignment surgery and hormones, the military could purchase twenty-two F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Planes, which cost $166.7 million each, or 116 Chinook Helicopters, which cost $31.8 million each, or 3,700 Tomahawk missiles,…

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