Happy Thursday and welcome to Overnight Defense. I’m Ellen Mitchell, 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: Looks like women won’t be included in a nationwide military draft anytime soon.
A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that requiring only men to register for the military draft is constitutional.
The Supreme Court ruled in 1981 that women could be excluded from registering since combat jobs were closed to them.
What the court said: Combat jobs have since been opened to women, but the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said Thursday it cannot reverse the Supreme Court’s precedent.
“The factual underpinning of the controlling Supreme Court decision has changed, but that does not grant a court of appeals license to disregard or overrule that precedent,” the three-judge panel ruled, adding that “only the Supreme Court may overrule its precedents.”
Overturned: Thursday’s ruling overturns a 2019 decision from a lower court that the male-only draft is unconstitutional.
Background: The United States has not instituted a draft since the Vietnam War, and Pentagon officials have repeatedly said they intend to keep the force all-volunteer.
But men aged 18 through 25 still have to register for the Selective Service System or face consequences such as losing access to federal financial aid for college.
A men’s rights group known as the National Coalition for Men brought the lawsuit against the Selective Service System, arguing that a male-only draft is discriminatory.
Going to the Supreme Court?: In a statement Thursday, the men’s rights organization said it is “exploring its options” for next steps, including whether to petition the Supreme Court to hear the case.
Meanwhile, in Congress: Earlier this year, a congressionally chartered commission recommended expanding the draft registration to include women, saying doing so is a “necessary and fair step.”
Lawmakers, though, did not include the commission’s recommendations in this year’s defense policy bill.
When the House Armed Services Committee considered an amendment to the defense bill that would have added the recommendations, including requiring women to register for the draft, the provision was removed without a vote because of jurisdictional issues, and lawmakers pledged to hold a hearing on the recommendations.
PENTAGON DISMISSES ‘UNSERIOUS’ POST-ELECTION DEBATE: The Pentagon on Thursday dismissed talk of potential military involvement in any post-election dispute, calling the debate “unserious thought.”
“We have a Constitution, and our Constitution, which all members of the military have sworn an oath to, provides no role for the U.S. military as arbiter of political or election disputes,” chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said at a press briefing.
“This issue appears to be borne of unserious thought reflecting a fundamental lack of appreciation for the history of our democracy and the civilian-military relationship established under our Constitution,” he added.
Pressed further if the military was prepared to provide support to civilian authorities in the event of post-election unrest, Hoffman called the scenario “hypothetical” and referred back to his previous comment.
Why this came up: Hoffman’s comments come after a debate was sparked this week by two retired Army officers who wrote an open letter to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley saying he must order the military to remove President Trump from office if he loses in November and refuses to leave.
“If Donald Trump refuses to leave office at the expiration of his constitutional term, the United States military must remove him by force, and you must give that order,” John Nagl and Paul Yingling wrote in the open letter published by Defense One on Tuesday.
That prompted op-eds, tweets and other pushback calling the letter dangerously irresponsible and arguing civilian authorities, including the courts and federal law enforcement, would be responsible in the unprecedented event that Trump does not accept the election results.
Trump flip flops: Trump has raised the prospect that he won’t accept the results in November, claiming that mail-in voting could lead to widespread voter fraud despite no supporting evidence.
“I have to see,” Trump told Fox News’s Chris Wallace last month when asked if he would accept the Election Day results. “No, I’m not just going to say yes, I’m not going to say no, and I didn’t last time either.”
In June, Trump said he’d peacefully leave the White House if he’s defeated, saying he would “go on, do other things.”
ON TAP FOR TOMORROW
The Air Force Association will hold an online discussion with Gen. James “Mike” Holmes, commander, Air Combat Command, at 5 p.m.
ICYMI
– The Hill: Iranian navy briefly seized oil tanker near Strait of Hormuz, US says
– The Hill: Trump says UAE to open relations with Israel, halting West Bank annexation
– The Hill: FBI joining deadly Beirut blast investigation, State Dept. official says
– The Hill: Federal agencies seize, dismantle cryptocurrency campaigns of major terrorist organizations
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