DOD Intel Gets Formal Direction: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has approved a detailed set of guidelines for the undersecretary for intelligence, a post created in 2003 and headed by Rummyite Stephen Cambone. The 16-page directive specifies that Cambone is empowered to exercise Rumsfeld’s “authority, direction, and control” over defense intelligence agencies and is DOD’s “primary representative” to the Director of National Intelligence and the Intelligence Community in general. The USD(I) gets to “identify” candidates to serve as directors of DIA, NGA, NSA, and, yes, the NRO. (You may remember that Ronald Sega is the first Air Force Undersecretary to not also hold title as NRO director.) Among a list of “relationships” in the new directive is one for the USD(I) to “work closely” with the DOD Executive Agent for Space (Sega).
President Donald Trump on July 4 signed into law $150 billion in defense funds as part of the tax-and-spending package known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” after congressional Republicans approved the legislation in narrow, drawn-out votes earlier this week.