TRUMP: ‘WE’VE PUT A MAJOR HURT ON THE HOUTHIS’: There was a time when, if the U.S. was engaged in a major air campaign involving more than one aircraft carrier, cruise missile firing warships, and land-based fighter jets, B2 bombers, and attack drones, the Pentagon would provide regular briefings and the military commands would issue news releases to inform the American public how the war was going.
But aside from a one-sentence statement from the U.S. Central Command announcing a “large scale operation against Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen” on March 15 and a single Pentagon briefing two days later, there has been a virtual blackout on what’s being accomplished by the daily air attacks aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Gulf of Aden and the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.
While CENTCOM routinely posts videos of planes launching from aircraft carriers and missiles firing from ships, the only battle damage assessments have been coming from the commander in chief himself. “The Iran-backed Houthi Terrorists have been decimated,” President Donald Trump posted from his Truth Social account on March 31. “Many of their Fighters and Leaders are no longer with us. We hit them every day and night.”
At his extended photo op with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday, Trump again claimed the U.S. bombing campaign, which is approaching $1 billion in additional costs, has put the Houthis in dire straits.
“We’ve put a major hurt on the Houthis, which nobody’s been able to do. We’ve really hit them hard, and they know it, and they don’t know what to do,” Trump asserted. “It’s every night, night after night. And we’ve gotten many of their leaders, and they’re experts. They’re experts on missiles. I mean, they actually make missiles. Nobody thought that, but they make missiles. They’re highly sophisticated, and they’re very tough, but they’ve been very badly damaged.”
HEGSETH: ‘FOR THE HOUTHIS … IT’S ABOUT TO GET WORSE’: Trump has said the nightly strikes will continue until the Houthis no longer threaten warships or commercial shipping, and yesterday he called on his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, to fill in with more details.
“It’s been a devastating campaign. Whether it’s underground facilities, weapons manufacturing, bunkers, troops in the open air defense assets, we are not going to relent, and it’s only to get more unrelenting until the Houthis declare they will stop shooting at our ships,” Hegseth said. “It’s been a bad three weeks for the Houthis, and it’s about to get worse.”
“And we’ve been very clear with the Iranians as well, they should not continue to provide support to the Houthis,” Hegseth said. “And that message has been made very clear. So, we have a lot more options and a lot more pressure to apply.”
ABOUT THOSE B2s: The U.S. Air Force has deployed a half dozen of its batwing B-2 stealth bombers to the British base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, sparking some concern that they could be used in a potential future strike against Iran.
But for now, they are being used to target the Houthis’ “extensive network of underground weapons storage facilities,” according to Liz Friden of Fox News, because the B-2 is the only plane capable of carrying the 30,000-pound GBU-57 bunker buster bomb, price tag $20 million each.
Trump yesterday announced that this coming weekend, the U.S. would be holding what he called “direct talks” with Iran about abandoning its nuclear weapons program under the threat of “great danger.”
“We have a very big meeting, and we’ll see what can happen,” Trump said. “And I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious.” While Iran said the meetings in Oman on Saturday would be indirect discussions through a mediator, Trump insisted they were direct negotiations.
“High level. Very high level, and we’re dealing with the Iranians,” he said. “You know, a lot of people say, oh, maybe you’re going through surrogates, or you’re not dealing directly, you’re dealing through other countries. No, we’re dealing with them directly.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on X that the talks would be “indirect high-level talks,” adding, “It is as much an opportunity as it is a test. The ball is in America’s court.”
TRUMP SAYS ‘DIRECT’ TALKS WITH IRAN TO BEGIN THIS WEEKEND
Good Tuesday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre.
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HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is in Panama amid President Trump’s concern that China has too much influence over the operation of the Panama Canal. “It is a privilege to represent the U.S. as the first SECDEF to visit the nation in over two decades,” Hegseth posted on X before arriving in Panama late last night.
While Hegseth’s trip comes amid Trump’s repeated threat to take back the canal, Hegeth’s two-day visit is centered around the 2025 Central American Security Conference, an annual event co-hosted by the U.S. and Panama, according to Breitbart’s Kristina Wong, who is traveling with the secretary.
“The Secretary will meet with partner-nation senior civilian, military, and security leadership in a series of bilateral meetings that will drive ongoing efforts to strengthen our partnerships with Panama and other Central American nations toward our shared vision for a peaceful and secure Western Hemisphere,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
While in Panama, Hegseth will also meet with U.S. troops who are conducting joint training with Panamanian forces.
PETE HEGSETH TO TRAVEL TO PANAMA AS PRESSURE RAMPS UP OVER CANAL CONTROL
HEGSETH: COMING SOON: THE FIRST TRILLION DOLLAR DOD BUDGET’: President Trump is promising that next year, the U.S. defense budget will break the $1 trillion mark, up from the $892 billion to be allocated for the current fiscal year, if Congress ever managed to pass a budget.
“We’re going to be approving a budget, and I’m proud to say, actually, the biggest one we’ve ever done for the military. We’re cutting other things that were under DOGE,” Trump said yesterday. “You’ll like to hear this. Of a trillion dollars, $1 trillion. And nobody has seen anything like it.”
“We are getting a very, very powerful military. We have things under order now. The likes of which we’ve never had before,” Trump continues. “We’ve never had the kind of aircraft, the kind of missiles, anything that we have ordered. And it’s in many ways too bad that we have to do it because, hopefully, we’re not going to have to use it.”
Hegseth was quick to salute smartly on social media. “Thank you Mr. President! COMING SOON: the first TRILLION dollar @DeptofDefense budget,” he posted on X. “President @realDonaldTrump is rebuilding our military — and FAST. (PS: we intend to spend every taxpayer dollar wisely — on lethality and readiness)
ANOTHER ‘TOO WOKE’ ADMIRAL SACKED: No official explanation has been given, but another senior U.S. military officer has lost her job, and the suspicion is she ran afoul of the Pentagon’s ban on wokeness.
Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, the U.S. representative to the 32-member NATO Military Committee and the only woman on the committee, was informed yesterday that she was being replaced by Adm. Christopher Grady, the acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Chatfield becomes the third senior female military officer to be fired since Trump took office. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti were also sacked earlier this year.
Chatfield — a Navy helicopter pilot who also commanded a joint reconstruction team in Afghanistan — was on a list of senior military officers targeted as “woke” by the conservative American Accountability Foundation, which sent a letter to Hegseth saying that “purging the woke from the military is imperative,” according to the Associated Press.
DEMOCRATS: FIRING OF CYBER COMMANDER ‘INEXPLICABLE’: A group of 23 Senate Democrats has written to President Trump to decry last week’s summary firing of National Security Agency Director and U.S. Cyber Commander Gen. Timothy Haugh.
The letter, signed by the top Democrats on the Armed Services, Intelligence, and Appropriations committees, expresses “alarm at the sudden and inexplicable” firings of Haugh and the reassignment of Deputy NSA Director Wendy Noble.
“Not only have both dutifully served this nation for decades under both Democratic and Republican administrations, but their removals were conducted in the middle of the night with no consultation with Congress and, according to reports, at the behest of a private citizen who has a record of promoting conspiracy theories,” the senators wrote, referring to reports that Laura Loomer, a right-wing personality, urged Trump to fire Haugh and Noble In an Oval Office meeting on last week.
Loomer, who identifies herself as an “investigative journalist” and “free spirit,” appeared to take credit for the firings and, on her X account, urged her followers to identify other Biden administration “holdovers” for firing. There are a lot of bad actors embedded all over the FBI, DOJ, NSC, NSA, DOD, and State Department. It’s going to take time to hunt these people down, publicly expose them, and have them fired and removed from their positions.”
AND ONE LAST THING: The Foundation for Defense of Democracies is out with a new report, “Arsenal of Democracy: Arming Taiwan, Ukraine, and Israel While Strengthening the U.S. Industrial Base,” which considers the question of whether the U.S. can simultaneously arm Taiwan, Ukraine, and Israel.
The report “examines in detail 25 weapon systems that the United States provides or may provide to Ukraine and Taiwan, or to Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel,” and finds “there has not been a material delay in the delivery of the examined weapon systems to Taiwan or Israel because of American efforts to support Ukraine.”
But that does not mean all is well. Check out the report here.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
THE RUNDOWN:
Washington Examiner: Trump won’t pause tariffs to allow for negotiations
Washington Examiner: Trump’s tariffs far harsher than other metrics that measure foreign tariff rates
Washington Examiner: Brian Schatz expands block on Trump nominees to 300 positions
Washington Examiner: Trump says ‘direct’ talks with Iran to begin this weekend
Washington Examiner: Pete Hegseth to travel to Panama as pressure ramps up over canal control
Washington Examiner: Trump touts ‘freedom zone’ plan for rebuilding Gaza with US ‘peace force’
Washington Examiner: Israel controls over half of Gaza as Netanyahu visits Trump to talk next steps
Washington Examiner: Trump sees allies in suppressed right-wing populists of Europe
Washington Examiner: ICE offering $45 billion for private sector to build and staff immigrant detention facilities
Washington Examiner: Brussels police arrest Rubio security detail supervisor after hotel fight
Washington Examiner: Senate GOP leaders dismiss bipartisan push to curb Trump’s tariff power
Washington Examiner: White House threatens to veto Congress’s efforts to rein in tariff power
Washington Examiner: Supreme Court lifts order against Trump using wartime law for deportations
Washington Examiner: Supreme Court temporarily pauses return of mistakenly deported Maryland man
Washington Examiner: Don Bacon mocks Laura Loomer: ‘She’s right off the movie Poltergeist’
Washington Examiner: South Korea to hold presidential election on June 3
Washington Examiner: VA steps up rollout of new electronic health records system amid concerns over cost and support
Defense One: US Weapons Support for Ukraine Doesn’t Compete with Taiwan Goals: Report
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Ukraine Flying Its F-16s ‘Every Day’ Against Russia, with More Coming: EUCOM Boss
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Could the Air Force Add More EA-37 Electronic Attack Jets to Its ‘Wish List’?
Breaking Defense: ‘Secretary-Level and Above’ Officials ‘Working’ F/A-XX Fighter Decision: Acting CNO
Defense Scoop: Navy Provides New Details about Sixth-Gen F/A-XX Fighter Jet
The War Zone: China’s J-36 Tailless Fighter Zips Over Road on Landing Giving Us Our Best Look Yet
Aviation Week: DIU Taps Firefly for Space Maneuvering Demonstration
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Space Force’s New Core Doctrine Emphasizes Warfighting
SpaceNews: Space Force Missile-Tracking ‘Foo Fighter’ Satellites Clear Design Milestone
Breaking Defense: NRO, Space Force in ‘Final Stages’ of Commercial ISR Arrangement
Air & Space Forces Magazine: Air Force Accepts Long-Awaited First New Radar for Ground Battle Management
The War Zone: Bullseye Standoff Weapon Based on Israeli Cruise Missile Unveiled by General Atomics
THE CALENDAR:
TUESDAY | APRIL 8
7:30 a.m. 201 Waterfront St., National Harbor, Maryland — Navy League 2025 Sea-Air-Space Conference, April 7-9, with Lt. Gen. Melvin “Jerry” Carter, deputy commandant for information at the Marine Corps; Vice Adm. Daniel Cheever, commander, Naval Air Forces and Naval Air Force Pacific; Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly, director, Army Defense Logistics Agency; Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CN); and Vice Adm. James Downey, commander, Navy Naval Sea System Command https://www.seaairspace.org
8:15 a.m.100 Westgate Cir., Annapolis, Maryland — American Bar Association 2025 Federal Procurement Institute, with David Norquist, president and CEO, National Defense Industrial Association https://events.americanbar.org/event
9:30 a.m. G-50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the nominations of Bradley Hansell to be undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security; Earl Matthews to be Pentagon general counsel; Dale Marks to be assistant secretary of defense for energy, installations and environment; and Brandon Williams to be Energy undersecretary for nuclear security http://www.armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee hearing: “U.S. Military Posture and National Security Challenges in Europe,” with testimony from Katherine Thompson, performing the duties of assistant Defense secretary for international security affairs; and Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, commander of the U.S. European Command http://www.armedservices.house.gov
10 a.m. — Carnegie Endowment for International Peace virtual discussion: “What Comes Next for Israel?” with former Shin Bet Director Ami Ayalon; and Aaron David Miller, CEIP senior fellow https://carnegieendowment.org/events
2:30 p.m. G-50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee hearing: “The U.S. Special Operations Command in Review of the Defense Authorization Request for FY2026 and the Future Years Defense Program,” with testimony from Colby Jenkins, performing the duties of the assistant Defense secretary for special operations and low-intensity conflict; and Army Gen. Bryan Fenton, commander, U.S. Special Operations Command http://www.armed-services.senate.gov
2:30 p.m. 222 Russell — Senate Armed Services Committee Seapower Subcommittee hearing: “The State of Nuclear Shipbuilding,” with testimony from Matthew Sermon, program manager at the Maritime Industrial Base; Rear Adm. Jonathan Rucker, program executive officer for attack submarines; Rear Adm. Casey Moton, program executive officer for aircraft carriers; and Rear Adm. Todd Weeks, program executive officer for strategic submarines http://www.armed-services.senate.gov
4 p.m. 2212 Rayburn — House Armed Services Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation Subcommittee hearing: “Final Report of the National Security Commission for Emerging Biotechnology,” with Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) chair, National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology; and Michelle Rozo, vice chair, National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology https://armedservices.house.gov/subcommittees
WEDNESDAY | APRIL 9
8:30 a.m. 201 Waterfront St., National Harbor, Maryland — Navy League wraps up its three-day Sea-Air-Space Conference, with Rep. Trent Kelly, (R-MS); Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas; Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA); Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ) and Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA) https://www.seaairspace.org
8:45 a.m. 151 St. George Blvd, Oxon Hill, Maryland — Defense Strategies Institute Identity Management Symposium, April 9-10, with Kevin Mulvhill, acting Pentagon principal deputy chief information officer; and Leslie Beavers, acting Pentagon chief information officer https://identitymanagement.dsigroup.org/register/
12 p.m. — Washington Institute for Near East Policy virtual forum: “Between Israel and Turkey, Implications for the New Syria,” with Maya Gebeily, Reuters bureau chief for Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan; Soner Cagaptay, WINEP senior fellow; and Assaf Orion, WINEP fellow https://washingtoninstitute-org.zoom.us/webinar
2:30 p.m. — Senate Armed Services Committee Personnel Subcommittee hearing: “Department of Defense Personnel Policies and Programs in Review of the Defense Authorization Request for FY2026 and the Future Years Defense Program,” with testimony from Army Lt. Gen. Brian Eifler, deputy chief of staff for personnel; Vice Adm. Richard Cheeseman., chief of naval personnel; Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael Borgschulte, deputy commandant for manpower and reserve affairs; Air Force Lt. Gen. Caroline Miller, deputy chief of staff for manpower, personnel, and services; and Katharine Kelley, Space Force deputy chief of space operations for human capital http://www.armed-services.senate.gov
3:30 p.m. 2118 Rayburn — House Armed Services Committee Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing: “FY26 Strategic Forces Posture Hearing.” http://www.armedservices.house.gov
4 p.m. — Common Good virtual discussion: beginning at 4 p.m., on “What makes for great diplomatic negotiations?” with former U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Stuart Eizenstat, former chief domestic policy adviser to President Jimmy Carter https://www.thecommongoodus.org/upcoming-events
6 p.m. 500 West Baltimore St., Baltimore, Maryland — Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies discussion: “Southern Border and Immigration: Procedures and Policies for Managing Entry,” with Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ); and Brian Fish, special assistant to the U.S. Attorney General https://fedsoc.org/events/southern-border-and-immigration-procedures
6 p.m. 2300 N St. NW — Aspen Institute book discussion: Death Is Our Business: Russian Mercenaries and the New Era of Private Warfare,” with author John Lechner; and New York Times national security correspondent David Sanger https://www.aspeninstitute.org/events/susan-and-john-klein-book-series
THURSDAY | APRIL 10
Brussels, Belgium — The United Kingdom and France host a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in defence ministers format at NATO headquarters https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_234102.htm
8:45 a.m. 151 St. George Blvd., Oxon Hill, Maryland — Defense Strategies Institute Identity Management Symposium, April 9-10, with : Brig. Gen. Eric Van Den Bosch, deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command; Marine Col. Bryan Eovito, commanding officer, Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group, https://identitymanagement.dsigroup.org/register
9:30 a.m. G-50 Dirksen — Senate Armed Services Committee hearing: “The Posture of United States Indo-Pacific Command and United States Forces Korea in Review of the Defense Authorization Request for FY2026 and the Future Years Defense Program,” with testimony from Adm. Samuel Paparo, commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command; and Army Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander, UN Command/Combined Forces Command/U.S. Forces Korea http://www.armed-services.senate.gov
10 a.m. 2318 Rayburn — House Science, Space, and Technology Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing: “DeepSeek: A Deep Dive.” http://science.house.gov
10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Space and Data Domain Lessons from Russia-Ukraine,” with Giorgi Tskhakaia, adviser to the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation; Aaron Jaffe, senior vice president of Palantir; and David Gauthier, chief strategy officer at GXO Inc. https://www.csis.org/events/space-and-data-domain-lessons
FRIDAY | APRIL 11
Brussels, Belgium — The United Kingdom and Germany convene the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at NATO headquarters https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news
10 a.m. — National Institute for Deterrence Studies virtual discussion: “Ensuring America’s Strategic Edge,” with Maj. Gen. Stacy Jo Huser, commander, 20th Air Force at Air Force Global Strike Command https://thinkdeterrence.com/events/ensuring-americas-strategic-edge/
1 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies forum: “Deepening the U.S.-Japan Space Security Relationship,” with Jun Kazeki, director-general of Japan’s National Space Policy Secretariat, Cabinet Office; Lt. Gen. Corey Trusty, military deputy, Space Force’s International Affairs Space Division https://www.csis.org/events/deepening-us-japan-space-security-relationship
TUESDAY | APRIL 22
6:15 a.m. 2425 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Virginia — Association of the U.S. Army “Coffee Series” discussion with Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus https://www.ausa.org/events/coffee-series/gen-mingus
