Mark Satter

Today's my first day on the @politico defense team - covering the Pentagon, Hill and everything in between. msatter@politico.com / Mark.312 on Signal. Tips always welcome.

The FBI director is traveling to Russia weeks before the midterm elections. “His host is likely to be the FSB, the Russian security service that is heir to the Soviet-era KGB” politico.com/news/2026/07/2…

Scoop - House GOP leaders are trying to make plans for Pete Hegseth or another Trump official to brief House Republicans on the renewed war with Iran during their conference meeting Tuesday morning, per 4 ppl More and more Rs are asking for a briefing on the war before they vote for the $95B Iran war and ag package framework this week, per the people politico.com/live-updates/2…

NEW: The Trump administration's effort to unmask @nytimes confidential sources on AF1 reporting is wider than previously known. DOJ subpoenaed phone records of NYT journalists & their relatives, including one reporter’s mother. 2 subpoenas seek records dating back to January 1.

President Trump will attend the dignified transfer of our fallen heroes tomorrow evening at Dover Air Force Base. The President and the entire White House are praying for their families.

Bryson DeChambeau asked for Donald Trump to be included in the tense stand-off with Open officials that resulted in the American being hit with a two-shot penalty, a report has claimed @jcorrigangolf has all the details ⤵️ telegraph.co.uk/golf/2026/07/2…

SCOOP: Some White House aides scrambled when it became clear a bunch of Polymarket accounts were making bets on the U.S.-Iran ceasefire earlier this year. Officials started asking- could there be people inside the government making such bets? The CFTC is investigating an instance of a GOP congresswoman tipping off a friend about Trump planning to pick JD Vance as his running mate prior to the president's announcement in 2024. And a then think tank rep, now a White House official, tipped off an ally about Vance set to become Trump's running mate. In each case- the people taking the tips believed it to be such concrete intel they placed the bets and made off with big winnings Story w/ @PhilipWegmann wsj.com/politics/polic…

Exclusive- our deep dive into the secret political betting culture in Washington, and the insiders helping fuel it. Our extensive investigation found betting on politics has skyrocketed in ‘26 but turning to insiders to make bets on major political decisions has been happening since the 2024 presidential election. New reporting w/ @PhilipWegmann: wsj.com/politics/polic…

After nearly a week of sustained fighting, the Pentagon today increased its wounded in action count from 414 to 427. Unclear exactly when or where those additional 13 injuries occurred. Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar have all reported attacks over the last week.

HASC Ranking Member Adam Smith says he will likely oppose the NDAA on the floor next week, citing the $1.15 trillion topline and the likely inclusion of partisan amendments.

House Republicans are advancing their plan for a third reconciliation bill with $60B to address immediate needs of the Iran war. But it undercuts the $350B Trump and defense hawks wanted as part of a $1.5T defense buildup. w/@LeoShane @marksatter politico.com/news/2026/07/1…

Luna's signature brings this discharge petition to 215, just three signatures short of forcing floor consideration of the Major Richard Star Act.

A major setback for the Take Care of America's Veterans Act in the House -- Now it's not clear if there's a path to get this bill moving before Veterans Day or at all this year. With @meredithllee politico.com/live-updates/2…

New: The Pentagon is asking Congress for broad new authority to withhold unclassified records from the public, a proposal that transparency advocates say could significantly reduce the public's ability to scrutinize the nation's largest federal agency and understand how billions of taxpayer dollars are spent. cbsnews.com/news/pentagon-…

HASC Chair Mike Rogers says he’s “good with” the new push for $60 billion in defense funding via reconciliation. Predicts ANOTHER reconciliation push (4.0) could happen in lame duck. Otherwise, the Pentagon would be left with a roughly $190B hole that “I don’t know how I’m gonna deal with,” he said.

VP Vance to Joe Rogan on the Iran war: "I don't know exactly where this is going to go, but I think fundamentally we are on the right trajectory. It's just going to be really messy and there's going to be a lot of stops and starts."

Sen. Roger Wicker tells us the new approach to defense funding via reconciliation in the House is “inadequate.” Do they need to do another one to get to $350 billion? “A better one.”

The Take Care of America’s Veterans Act may not make it to the House floor this week. The legislation is already causing a major rift in the veterans community. With @meredithllee politico.com/news/2026/07/1…

Hegseth says servicemembers 30 and older will be screened for testosterone deficiency. Testosterone replacement therapy will be voluntary if offered.

Spotted in the Senate subway: Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey.

The $60B for defense in Reconciliation 3.0 doesn't even fully pay for the $67B request by DoD for supplemental funding, much less the $350B reconciliation request needed to achieve the $1.5T defense budget for FY27