Overnight Defense: Trump tensions peak ahead of NATO summit | Trump officials deny softening stance on North Korea | DHS extends protected status for Yemeni migrants

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.

 

THE TOPLINE: Strains in the U.S.-European relationship are peaking just as President Trump prepares to face allies at this month’s critical NATO summit.

Trump has repeatedly complained that members aren’t meeting the alliance’s defense spending goal. But the meeting comes at a difficult time, with the broader U.S.-European relationship already under stress from Trump’s tariffs, his withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and his overtures to improve relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Expectations for this year’s summit are not high following a rocky first meeting with NATO leaders last summer.

Backstory: Since his presidential campaign, Trump has railed against NATO allies for what he sees as an unfair reliance on the United States to foot the bill for their defense.

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Just eight of NATO’s 29 members currently meet or are expected this year to meet the alliance’s goal of spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense: the United States, United Kingdom, Greece, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Romania and Lithuania. 

That goal was set at the 2014 Wales summit, where allies agreed to meet the target by 2024. NATO’s secretary-general has said at least 15 allies will make the 2024 deadline.

Trump, though, wants allies to speed up their spending plans. He upped the ante recently in pointed letters to Merkel, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and leaders in Belgium and Norway, according to excerpts published Monday by The New York Times.

What’s leading to the new tensions: A number of contentious conversations and actions have taken place between Trump and NATO leaders in the last several months. The personal acrimony between Trump and Merkel, in particular, has appeared to grow, with the president tweeting recently that “the people of Germany are turning against their leadership.”

At the G-7, Trump reportedly tossed two pieces of Starburst candy to Merkel and said, “Here, Angela. Don’t say I never give you anything.”

Trump also rattled allies at the G-7 by saying Russia should be allowed back into the group. Russia was kicked out after annexing Crimea in 2014 in a move Western nations maintain was illegal.

Trump also reportedly disparaged NATO during the G-7 summit saying the alliance is “as bad as NAFTA,” the North American trade agreement he wants to renegotiate or rip up.

In addition, the president went ahead with 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent tariffs on aluminum from the European Union, Canada and Mexico. All have announced retaliatory tariffs.

 

POMPEO HEADS TO NORTH KOREA: The State Department on Thursday brushed off suggestions that the Trump administration has eased off North Korea as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo heads to the isolated nation, The Associated Press reported.

U.S. policy has not changed and the State Department is “committed to a denuclearized North Korea,” spokeswoman Heather Nauert told journalists accompanying Pompeo on the trip.

Pompeo is set to reach Pyongyang on Friday for further talks on denuclearization of the country.

What will happen on this visit: The trip, which follows last month’s historic summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, is meant to press Pyongyang to take visible steps to reach its commitment to “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula.

Pompeo will meet with Kim and other officials, according to White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. 

He will remain in North Korea until Saturday to “continue consultations and implement the forward progress made Trump and Chairman Kim in Singapore,” the State Department said.

“Looking forward to continuing our work toward the final, fully verified denuclearization of #DPRK, as agreed to by Chairman Kim. Good to have the press along for the trip,” Pompeo tweeted on Thursday, referring to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The denuclearization question: Trump and Kim made the vague commitment at the June 12 summit, each signing an agreement that said North Korea would abandon its nuclear program. The document but did not specify a timeline or how it would reach such a goal.

Trump also agreed to temporarily halt major military exercises on the Korean Peninsula while talks continue, drawing criticism from lawmakers and former military officials.

Recently released satellite images, however, have cast doubt on North Korea’s commitment to the agreement, as have reports that Pyongyang has increased fuel production for nuclear missiles at several secret research facilities.

 

ARMY REPORTEDLY DISCHARGING SOME IMMIGRANTS: The U.S. Army has begun quietly discharging some immigrant members, a move that could put those member’s immigration status at risk, The Associated Press reported Thursday.

Immigration attorneys told the AP that they knew of more than 40 immigrant recruits and reservists who had been discharged from their service or whose status is now at question.

Some of the military members told the AP that they did not know why they were discharged. Others said they were told they were labeled a “security risk” because of relatives abroad and or because their background checks were incomplete.

 

TRUMP OFFICIALS EXTEND SPECIAL IMMIGRATION STATUS FOR YEMENI CITIZENS: The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday announced the extension of a special immigration status for citizens of Yemen living in the United States.

About 1,250 Yemeni nationals are covered by the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, which allows citizens of countries that have undergone natural or man-made disasters to live and work in the U.S. The program protects foreign citizens who are already in the U.S., legally or illegally, when their home country is designated for protection after a disaster.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced the 18-month extension, the longest period TPS designations can be extended.

The background: Yemen was first designated for TPS on Sept. 3, 2015, six months after a civil war started there.

The internal conflict has raged on since then, with Houthi rebels and forces loyal to President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi each controlling large swaths of the country on the Arabian Peninsula.

Neighboring Saudi Arabia has intervened in the war, as have the local branches of al Qaeda and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

What the special status entails: “After carefully reviewing conditions in Yemen with interagency partners, Secretary Nielsen determined that the ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions that support Yemen’s current designation for TPS continue to exist,” the department said in a statement Thursday.

The extension applies only to current Yemeni TPS beneficiaries.

 

ICYMI

— The Hill: Ex-military officials sign on to oppose Trump’s transgender troops ban

— The Hill: Moscow: UK denied offer to help in March nerve agent attack

— The Hill: Russian Embassy: UK ‘dumb’ to think Kremlin would stage nerve attack during World Cup

— The Hill: UK asks Russia to provide details on nerve agent after two more affected

— The Hill: Iranian president travels to Austria in effort to salvage Iran deal

— The Hill: Opinion: Fear over nuclear war runs high 50 years after nonproliferation treaty

— Defense News: Trump’s NATO summit focus won’t include withdrawing troops from Europe