The Senate passed a mammoth defense bill on Tuesday, sending it toPresident Trump’s desk for his signature.
Senators voted 86-8 to approve the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The legislation cleared the House last week.
The $738 billion bill — which authorizes spending and lays out policy guidelines for the Pentagon — includes a high-profile deal that grants federal employees 12 weeks of paid parental leave in exchange for creating Trump’s “Space Force.” Continue reading
NOTE: Looks like when it comes to defense spending, Sen. Moscow Mitch McConnell can actually allow a bill on the Senate floor for a vote.
The following article by Eli Rosenberg was posted on the Washington Post website August 14 2018:
“I love this,” Stone wrote next to the meme. “Proud to be in this crew — but the only lies being told are by liberal scumbags.” Credit: Patrick T. Fallon, Bloomberg
Roger Stone, a confidant of President Donald Trump and a longtime Republican operative, posted an image that depicted himself and other Trump allies wearing space suits with swastika patches on Monday, before deleting the picture after outcry on social media.
The image appears to have been originally deployed as an anti-Trump meme on social media sites and websites such as 4chan and Reddit that surfaced after Pence touted the proposal for a sixth branch of the military at a news conference last week. It shows Stone, Republican Rep. Devin Nunes, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Vice President Mike Pence, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Fox News host Sean Hannity and President Trump in space suits with the Nazi symbol appropriated into an insignia for the space force on the front of their outfits. A magnified image of the swastika patch also appears in the photo’s upper right hand corner.
“In space no one can hear you lie,” the caption says.
The following article by Oliver Willis was posted on the ShareBlue.com website August 10, 2018:
The Trump administration is pushing its ‘space force’ idea while the Trump campaign is pushing ‘space force’ swag. It sure looks like making money was the entire point all along.
Credit: Andrew Harnik, AP Photo
Evidence is mounting that the White House rollout of a so-called “space force” is simply a way for Trump’s re-election campaign to rake in more cash.
The Pentagon has shown little to no intention of indulging Trump’s fantasies of a new, space-oriented branch of the U.S. military on par with the other five branches of the armed services.
But within one hour of Mike Pence’s speech at the Pentagon Thursday about the supposed “space force,” the Trump campaign sent an email urging supporters to pick a logo for campaign gear.
The following article by Patrick B. Pexton and Andrew Clevenger was posted on the Roll Call website August 10, 2018:
Space is the “next battlefield,” Vice President Mike Pence said this week. CQ editor Patrick B. Pexton talks with reporter Andrew Clevenger about all the steps needed to create the Space Force. The biggest challenge? A just-passed, two-year defense authorization bill that’s on the president’s desk awaiting his signature. That bill has no extra funds for such an ambitious enterprise that critics say isn’t even necessary to protect the U.S. from space-based threats.
The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website August 9, 2018:
Vice president ignores white elephant: a skeptical military and Congress
Space Force was on the mind of Vice President Mike Pence, seen here in the Rotunda last year. Credit: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo
There’s a new applause line in President Donald Trump’s campaign spiel.
It’s not quite up there with “Crooked Hillary” or demanding professional football players who kneel for the National Anthem to “get the hell out of here.” Crowds react with loud cheers when the president touts his envisioned “Space Force.”
“I’ve also directed the Pentagon to begin the process of creating the sixth branch of the United States Armed Forces called the Space Force,” he said Saturday in central Ohio.
The following article by Lauren Meier was posted on the Axios website August 9, 2018:
Credit: Castlelass via Morguefile.com
Speaking alongside Defense Secretary James Mattis at the Pentagon Thursday, Vice President Pence announced that “establishing the Space Force is an idea whose time has come.”
The big picture: The Vice President explained the Pentagon has begun the process of establishing Space Force as a 6th branch of the U.S. military by 2020, beginning with the establishment of a new combatant command overseen by a four-star general. However, only Congress has the power to establish a new branch of the military.
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The details: Pence outlined the first stages of a plan that the Department of Defense will deliver to congress to develop a U.S. Space Force. The plan includes four pillars, including the need to “strengthen deterrence and warfighting options.”
The Senate passed a mammoth defense bill on Tuesday, sending it to President Trump’s desk for his signature. 
