Another week chock full of newsworthy events. Let’s get right into it. The House elected Congressman Mike Johnson of Louisiana to be the new Speaker. Congressman Johnson moved quickly to pass an energy bill which, although unlikely to make it past the Senate due to several partisan provisions, demonstrates that the House is back in order and this Speaker means to get things done. He has also signaled support for aid to Israel and, likely, additional aid to Ukraine.
In the Senate, an effort is afoot to circumvent Senator Tuberville’s hold on hundreds of military promotions. The process, which must be approved by the Rules Committee, would allow to Senate to vote on en bloc packages of promotions rather than confirming each promotion one at a time. This is a departure from standard procedure which is why it is stipulated to only last through this Congress, if passed.
An Israeli ground assault into Gaza remains on hold as negotiations over hostages continue. Two more hostages were released this week by Hamas, though this slow trickle of hostages is undoubtedly little more than a delaying tactic by the militant group. Meanwhile, Israel could be facing a second front as skirmishes with Hezbollah on their northern border intensify. The United States is moving two aircraft carrier strike groups into the region to deter Hezbollah and other regional actors from expanding the Israeli-Gaza conflict. But a series of missile and drone attacks on American forces in the region, provoking a series of American missile responses, seem to indicate that the conflict is creating sporadic spillover throughout the region.
And if you want to know who is pulling the strings of these various militant groups, look no further than this week’s meeting between Russian, Iranian, and Hamas officials. The group met in Moscow with senior officials of each organization in attendance. There has never been much doubt about the fact that Iran was deliberately utilizing its proxies (like Hamas and Hezbollah) to destabilize any Western or Israeli influence in the Middle East. But Russia’s support for the effort seems to be increasingly evident. The more the United States and its allies are focused on the Middle East, the less they are focused on Ukraine. That works to Russia’s benefit.
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro released the “One Navy-Marine Corps Team: Advancing Department of the Navy Priorities” report which can be found here. According to Del Toro, “The future of the Navy hinges on the modernization and readiness of our fleet today. Together, we strive to build a combined Navy and Marine Corps team that is modern, highly capable, and fearlessly dedicated to our mission of combat-readiness”. And the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its findings related to the Navy’s shipbuilding plan and the AUKUS agreement. That report can be found here.