Overnight Defense — Presented by Raytheon — Trump caps UN visit with wild presser | Accuses China of election meddling | Pentagon spending bill clears House | Hawks cheer bill | Lawmakers introduce resolution to force Yemen vote

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. If you don’t get our newsletter, please CLICK HERE to subscribe.

 

THE TOPLINE: President Trump ended his visit to the United Nations on Wednesday with China in his crosshairs.

At a Security Council meeting that was officially about nonproliferation that Trump said was going to be about Iran, Trump made the biggest headline by accusing China of meddling in the upcoming midterm elections.

Without presenting any evidence, Trump said China was attempting to interfere in the election to prevent Republicans from winning because of Trump’s actions on trade.

“Regrettably, we found that China has been attempting to interfere in our upcoming 2018 election,” Trump said the meeting, which he was chairing. “They do not want me or us to win because I am the first president ever to challenge China on trade.”

Attempting to explain: A senior administration official later told reporters that China is “actively interfering in our political system,” accusing Beijing of trying to use tariffs to hurt farmers in states and districts that voted for Trump.

When pressed on the scope of China’s efforts to meddle in U.S. politics, the official said the activities “go beyond” targeting farming districts with tariffs but offered few details. The official described the activity as “covert” and involving propaganda, cyber activity, and corruption, adding that the administration would share more “over time.”

On Twitter, Trump also highlighted four-page insert in Sunday’s Des Moines Register that a Chinese government-backed media company purchased taking aim at Trump’s trade policies in the corn- and soy-producing state.

China denies: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who sat near Trump at a round table inside the Security Council chamber, later denied the president’s assertions.

“We did not and will not interfere in any country’s domestic affairs. We refuse to accept any unwarranted accusations against China,” Wang said through a translator.

Also from the meeting: In his opening remarks, Trump thanked Iran, Syria and Russia for their “restraint” in Idlib province, even as he warned of impending, “tougher than ever before” sanctions against Tehran.

“I want to thank Iran, Russia and Syria for, at my very strong urging and request, substantially slowing down their attack on Idlib province and the 3 million people who live there in order to get 35,000 targeted terrorists,” Trump said Wednesday, referring to the last rebel stronghold in Syria. “Get the terrorists, but I hope the restraint continues. The world is watching.”

A pending offensive in Idlib province, which many feared would be a bloodbath, has slowed after Moscow made a deal with Turkey for a demilitarized zone around the area.

Trump also continued a trend of flattery toward North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, describing him as “a man I have gotten to know and like” who wants “peace and prosperity” for his country.

 

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NUKE TIMELINE GONE: At a freewheeling, hour-and-20-minute-long news conference to close his time at the U.N., Trump indicated he has no deadline for when he wants North Korea to denuclearize.

Trump said he does not want to “play the time game” with North Korea, adding he doesn’t care if it takes years for the rogue country to denuclearization.

“I don’t want to get into the time game,” Trump said at a press conference in New York as he ended his visit to the United Nations General Assembly. “We’re not playing the time game. If it takes two years, three years or five months, doesn’t matter. There’s no nuclear testing and there’s no testing of rockets.”

The difference: Administration officials have previously said they were aiming for North Korea to take major steps toward denuclearization by the end of Trump’s first term.

In a statement last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the goal is to have a denuclearization deal by January 2021.

On Monday, though, asked how long it would take to know whether negotiations were working, Pompeo said that “to set a date certain would be foolish.”

On Wednesday, Trump said he told Pompeo not to “get into the time game.”

Pompeo visit: Earlier Wednesday, the State Department announced Pompeo will travel to Pyongyang next month to plan a second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Pompeo accepted invitation from Kim during his Wednesday meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York.

“Secretary Pompeo accepted Chairman Kim’s invitation to travel to Pyongyang next month to make further progress on the implementation of the commitments from the U.S.-DPRK Singapore summit, including the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK, and to prepare for a second summit between President Trump and Chairman Kim,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name.

Military exercises: In his news conference, Trump also touched on the canceled military exercises that a top general said Tuesday has caused a “slight degradation” in readiness.

Critics have slammed Trump for giving North Korea unilateral concessions, including canceling the joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises.

Trump said Wednesday he was looking at canceling the exercises for a while, reiterating his criticism that they were too costly. The Pentagon has said the exercises would have cost about $14 million, a fraction of its $700 billion budget.

“If you asked [Defense Secretary] Gen. [James] Mattis, for a year and a half, I said, ‘Why don’t we stop these ridiculous, in my opinion, the military games,” he said. “Frankly, I told South Korea you should be paying for these games.”

 

FUNDING WATCH: It appears the Pentagon spending bill is on a glide path to getting signed into law before the fiscal year.

The House passed the $854 billion bill — which also included funding for the departments of Labor, Education and Health and Human Services and a stopgap spending measure for much of the rest of the government — in a veto-proof 361-61 vote.

That came after the Senate’s 93-7 approval, meaning all that’s left is Trump’s signature.

Trump says he will sign: Trump said Wednesday that he would sign the bill, seeming to put to bed months of speculation over whether he would force a shutdown over his proposed border wall.

“We’re going to keep the government open,” Trump told reporters in New York, where he was attending the United Nations General Assembly.

Over the weekend, Trump had called the spending bill “ridiculous” and called on Republicans to “get tough” on border security.

Hawks cheer: If the bill gets signed, that means the Pentagon will get a full year of funding at the start of the fiscal year for the first time in almost a decade.

Defense hawks, as you can imagine, are pleased.

“This is a big deal,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said in a statement. “For the first time in a decade, Congress has managed to fund our military in full and on time. It is difficult to overstate how important this is for our troops, their families, and the security of the country.”

“The challenge ahead of us now is to repeat this achievement next year, and the year after that,” he added. “To truly restore strength, efficiency, and agility to the military, fully funding the Pentagon on time has to be the rule in Washington, not the exception.”

 

COUNTDOWN TO YEMEN VOTE: The stage has been set for a House vote after the midterm elections on U.S. involvement in the Yemen civil war.

On Wednesday, two-dozen House lawmakers officially introduced a War Powers resolution to end U.S. military involvement in Yemen’s civil war.

Because it invokes the War Powers Act, the resolution is “privileged,” meaning lawmakers could force a vote on it. The House is expected to be out the month of October, putting a vote in November.

The effort is being led by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who led a similar effort last year.

“One year later, the bloodshed continues with widespread destruction and disease contributing to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. U.S.-fueled planes continue to drop U.S.-made bombs on innocent victims,” Khanna said in a statement Wednesday.

“This time around, our coalition to end the war has expanded and the call for withdrawing U.S. involvement is louder,” he added.

Flashback: Leadership resisted bringing Khanna’s War Powers resolution to a vote last year, despite its privilege status.

Khanna eventually negotiated with Democratic and Republican leadership to instead get a vote on a non-binding resolution that passed. The resolution called U.S. military involvement in the war unauthorized.

What’s new: One major difference in Khanna’s effort this year is that he has several top Democrats in his corner.

Among the co-sponsors of the resolution are House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), House Armed Services Committee ranking member Adam Smith (D-Wash.) and House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.).

Two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.), are also co-sponsoring. The pair are typically outliers in their party on foreign policy.

 

ON TAP FOR TOMORROW

The House Foreign Affairs Committee has four hearings scheduled:

— The full committee will markup several bills at 10 a.m. at the Rayburn House Office Building, room 2172. https://bit.ly/2R1xHRC

— A subcommittee will hold a hearing on U.S. policy in Syria with testimony from outside experts at 1:30 p.m. at Rayburn 2172. https://bit.ly/2NIWUCf

— Another subcommittee will hold a hearing on resources for meeting objectives in Europe and Eurasia with testimony from State Department officials at 2 p.m. at Rayburn 2200. https://bit.ly/2OSR0ec

— Another subcommittee will hold a hearing on China’s religious persecution with testimony from outside experts at 2 p.m. at Rayburn 2255. https://bit.ly/2NIXHTJ

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) will give a keynote address on “Protecting the Grid” at 2 p.m. at the Heritage Center. https://herit.ag/2OWCYZn

A House Armed Services Committee subpanel will hold a hearing on military review board agencies with testimony from officials at 3:30 p.m. at Rayburn 2322. https://bit.ly/2OSUj5j

 

ICYMI

— The Hill: Wilkie vows no ‘inappropriate influence’ at VA

— The Hill: Amid heightened tensions with Beijing, US B-52s fly over South China Sea

— The Hill: Mattis: ‘Jury is out’ on women’s success in combat

— Stars and Stripes: House lawmakers confused over US military’s goals in Syria as Pentagon maintains focus on ISIS

— Associated Press: Iran says it doesn’t want war with the US