Carter cancels speech targeting Congress

By Tony Bertuca / September 12, 2016 at 4:58 PM

Defense Secretary Ash Carter has canceled a planned Thursday speech at the National Press Club that would have targeted Congress and an array of reforms proposed in the fiscal year 2017 defense authorization bill.

The speech, titled "Dulling the Edge: How Congress Risks Undermining the Finest Fighting Force the World Has Ever Known," was meant to give Carter a forum to weigh in more fully on the defense authorization bill, which he has already criticized for micromanagement.

The NPC announced the cancellation via a message on Twitter:

The speech "was rescheduled due to schedule conflicts," according to an email from Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman. "He will be back in town Wednesday night and meeting with the Japanese [defense minister] on Thursday."

The decision to cancel the speech comes amid controversy caused by a leaked internal Pentagon memo obtained by Politico that advises defense officials to play "hardball" with Republican lawmakers who are trying to increase defense spending beyond what was authorized by the 2015 Bipartisan Budget Agreement.

Carter, who spoke to reporters last week, sought to portray his relationship with Congress as positive and respectful.

"I have an excellent relationship with my colleagues on the Hill," he told reporters on a flight en route to London. "This is a relationship of great respect. Where I have differences with them in the matter of this budget, that's no secret. There's nothing partisan about that."

Meanwhile, Carter is scheduled to leave this evening for a trip to San Francisco, CA, and Austin, TX, focused on engaging the technology sector in the Pentagon's weapons development efforts.

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