Defense Policy

This week in Congress: Mattis and the defense budget

Military Times: WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary James Mattis will appear before Congress for the first time in his Cabinet role this week, to discuss upcoming defense budget plans before the House Appropriations Committee.

The Wednesday event will be Mattis’ first public comments on President Trump’s military spending plans, which would boost defense funding by billions of dollars but still fall short of what some conservatives on Capitol Hill had hoped for.

Mattis is just one of several high-profile defense-related witnesses before Congress this week. Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright will testify before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, head of U.S. European Command, will testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

Read article