Overnight Defense: Kerry faces grilling over ISIS

THE TOPLINE: Secretary of State John Kerry will testify before two Senate panels Tuesday and face tough questions on the administration's strategy against the Islamic State for Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as Congress weighs authorizing military force. Kerry is slated to testify about the State Department’s fiscal 2016 budget request but senators are expected to use the opportunity to press him on President Obama’s request for an authorization for the use of military force against ISIS. The administration sent its draft resolution to Capitol Hill days before lawmakers adjourned for the holiday break. The proposed legislation was widely panned by lawmakers of both parties. Those on the left said the proposal was too vague and warned of mission creep, while those on the right said it tied the president’s hands in trying to defeat ISIS. Tuesday’s hearings will be the Senate’s first opportunity to really dig into the president’s draft and sound out where diplomatic efforts against ISIS stand. Kerry will testify before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations at 10:30 a.m. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), one of the administration’s harshest national security critics, chairs the subpanel. The nations’ No. 1 diplomat next appears before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at 2:30 p.m., again to discuss State’s budget proposal. Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), another tough critic, will preside over that hearing. He'll also testify before two other panels this week. LAWMAKERS WANT AMENDMENTS TO AUMF. A group of 20 House lawmakers has demanded Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) allow amendments when the chamber takes up Obama’s authorization for military force. “We owe it to the troops who may be called on to perform this mission, to their families, and to the taxpayers who will be asked to pay for it, to give all members every opportunity to fully debate and shape the substance of this bill on the floor,” the group, led by Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), said in a Feb. 18 letter to Boehner. The letter, signed by 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans, noted that when the last AUMF was brought to the House floor in 2002, the amendment process was severely restricted, allowing for only two amendments. “Repeating this closed process would be a grave mistake,” the group warned. It is unclear when, or if, the full chamber will take up the request. Boehner himself recently said the proposed authorization isn’t strong enough. “The president is asking for less authority than he has today under previous authorizations,” he said in a Feb. 15 interview on “Fox News Sunday." “I don’t think that’s smart," Boehner said. “In addition to a robust authorization, I think we need to have a robust strategy and I don’t believe what the president sent here gives him the flexibility or the authority to take on this enemy and to win.” Meanwhile, the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday will hear from outside legal and military experts on the president’s proposal. DEM ‘MIND-BOGGLED’ OVER WAR PLAN BRIEFING: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) said she was "mind-boggled" by the Defense Department briefing last week of an upcoming military plan to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, from ISIS. "I was similarly mind-boggled and didn't understand at all how this could be part of a strategic plan in what they're talking about," Gabbard, a captain in the Hawaii Army National Guard and Iraq War veteran, said on CNN. "That you're not only outlining the timeline — which is troubling, but you're also talking about specifically how many troops, how many brigades, where they're coming from, and what they're going to be doing," she added. Last week a senior military official gave a briefing to reporters that divulged key operational details to drive ISIS out of Mosul, including the timing of the offensive. The news has angered several lawmakers, including Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who sit on the panel. Pentagon officials said Monday that the briefing did not reveal anything that wasn't spoken about publicly before or that was sensitive, but Gabbard said, "it was no excuse." WH BACKS CARTER ON TRANSGENDER TROOPS. The White House on Monday echoed remarks by new Defense Secretary Ashton Carter that sexual identity should not prohibit transgender people from military service. “The president agrees with the sentiment that all Americans who are qualified to serve should be able to serve,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said during a press briefing. “For that reason, we here at the White House welcome the comments from the secretary of Defense.” On Sunday, Carter said he was “very open minded” about the idea of transgender people serving in the military. “I don't think anything but their suitability for service should preclude them,” he said during a town-hall event in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Even though the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was repealed in 2011, allowing openly gay people to serve, there is still a ban that blocks transgender people from serving in uniform. One advocacy group applauded Carter’s comments. The Pentagon chief is “right in that their ability to serve is the only thing that should matter,” Ashley Broadway-Mack, president of the American Military Partner Association, said in a statement. “Thousands of transgender service members are currently doing the job, and doing it well, but are forced to do so in silence — forced to lie about something as fundamental as who they are in order to continue to serve,” she added. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: -DHS chief to Congress: 'The clock is ticking' -McCaul: GOP must make 'tough choices' this week on DHS funding -VA chief applauds suicide hotline film’s Oscar win -Oscar for Snowden documentary not stopping criticism -Cyber war heating up between Iran, US Please send tips and comments to Kristina Wong, kwong@thehill.com, and Martin Matishak, mmatishak@thehill.com. Follow us on Twitter: @thehill, @kristina_wong, @martinmatishak