Overnight Defense: Biden set for first address to Congress | Court declines to dismiss Amazon challenge on Pentagon cloud contract | Pelosi pushes back on top general’s account of Jan. 6 Guard deployment

Happy Wednesday and welcome to Overnight Defense. I’m Rebecca Kheel, and here’s your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. CLICK HERE to subscribe to the newsletter.

THE TOPLINE: President Biden is set to deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress in a matter of hours.

The excerpts and other news about what will be in the speech, which comes the night before Biden’s 100-day mark, so far have focused on domestic issues.

Excerpts released by the White House on Tuesday evening show Biden touting that his administration is working to restore faith in democracy amid an economic and public health crisis and in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

But there is typically also a section in these types of addresses devoted to defense and foreign policy.

Biden could, for example, tout his efforts to end America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan.

Stay tuned to TheHill.com for full coverage. The speech starts at 9 p.m.

Pandemic effects: Ahead of the speech, The Hill’s Cristina Marcos and Jordain Carney took a look at how the COVID-19 pandemic will make Biden’s speech look and feel unlike any president’s before him.

Of note for defense watchers, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to be only one of two Cabinet members among the audience of about 200 lawmakers and other dignitaries. The other will be Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley is also expected to be the only member of the Joint Chiefs in attendance, representing the other top military brass who would attend in a typical year.

JEDI CHALLENGE MOVING FORWARD

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims on Wednesday decided not to dismiss a protest lawsuit filed by Amazon over rival Microsoft being awarded a controversial $10 billion cloud-computing contract instead of Amazon Web Services (AWS).

What it means: The Pentagon’s new cloud system is now in limbo as Judge Patricia Campbell-Smith has issued a sealed decision that effectively deflects Microsoft’s and the Defense Department’s attempt to get work underway on the contract, which has been halted since February 2020.

The decision is a major win for Amazon as it seeks to prove that then-President Trump used “improper influence” to keep the multi-billion dollar contract away from the tech giant.

But the Pentagon could now scrap the contract altogether and restart in an effort to avoid a messy, drawn out proceeding.

Amazon’s reaction: In a statement on the decision, AWS again pushed its claims of influence by Trump.

“AWS continues to be the superior technical choice, the less expensive choice, and would provide the best value to the DoD and the American taxpayer. We continue to look forward to the Court’s review of the many material flaws in the DoD’s evaluation, and we remain absolutely committed to ensuring that the Department has access to the best technology at the best price,” according to an AWS spokesperson.

Microsoft’s reaction: Microsoft released its own statement saying the procedural ruling “changes little.”

“Not once, but twice, professional procurement staff at the DoD chose Microsoft after a thorough review. . . . We’ve continued for more than a year to do the internal work necessary to move forward on JEDI quickly, and we continue to work with DoD,” Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw said in the statement.

PELOSI VS. MILLEY

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushed back Wednesday against Milley’s assertion that there was no delay in deploying the National Guard during the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

What Milley said: During an event hosted by the McCain Institute that aired Wednesday, Milley denied that there was any deliberate effort to delay deploying the Guard.

“To my knowledge — and I have pretty good personal knowledge on this stuff — there was no specific attempt to delay the deployment of the National Guard,” Milley said in the pre-taped interview with news anchor Andrea Mitchell. “I mean that’s just false.”

Pelosi’s response: Later in the day during an interview with Pelosi on her MSNBC show, Mitchell aired a clip of Milley’s comment.

Pelosi pushed back immediately after the clip ended. 

“That isn’t false and I was there and I can attest to what happened,” she said. “But let’s hear people talk about it in a commission to find the truth about January 6.”

“I have the highest regard for Gen. Milley, but he doesn’t know the full picture if he presenting the characterization that he just presented,” Pelosi continued. “The fact is that they could’ve been there very much sooner and it would’ve been much less destruction.”

Context: Milley has previously said the response to the rioting was “super fast,” insisting the approval occurred within an hour and that the deployment itself took several hours.

House sergeant-at-arms Maj. General William Walker, who was commander of D.C.’s National Guard at the time, testified last month that Pentagon officials approved deploying the Guard three hours after the Capitol Police Chief placed a “frantic call.”

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW

Deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia Laura Cooper will speak about Russian influence in the Mediterranean at a virtual Atlantic Council event at 9 .a.m https://bit.ly/3ntGJY2

Defense Intelligence Agency director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines will testify about worldwide threats before the Senate Armed Services Committee at 9:30 a.m. https://bit.ly/32XaQ0B

A pair of House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs subcommittees will hold a joint hearing on “Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific and the U.N. Convention for the Law of the Sea” with testimony from outside experts at 11 a.m. https://bit.ly/3sVFEJK

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday and acting Navy Secretary Thomas Harker will testify before the House Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee at 11 a.m. https://bit.ly/3eDktXV

ICYMI

— The Hill: Senate confirms former Obama official Samantha Power to lead USAID

— The Hill: Blinken warns Turkey, US allies against purchasing Russian weapons

— The Hill: Australia expanding war games with US amid tensions with China

— The Hill: Lawmakers introduce legislation to create civilian reserve program to fight hackers

— Associated Press: US eyes major rollback in Iran sanctions to revive nuke deal

— ABC News: The military is concerned about extremism in its ranks. Here’s what to know.

— Air Force Times: Spike in Russian aircraft intercepts straining Air Force crews in Alaska, three-star says

— New York Times: How long can the Afghan security forces last on their own?