Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast [Washington Roundtable Jun 13, ’25]

On this week’s Defense & Aerospace Report Washington Roundtable, Dr. Patrick Cronin of the Hudson Institute think tank, Michael Herson of American Defense International, former Pentagon Europe chief Jim Townsend of the Center for a New American Security, former Pentagon comptroller Dr. Dov Zakheim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies join Defense & Aerospace Report Editor Vago Muradian to discuss uncertainty in Congress as reconciliation, the Trump administration’s rescissions request, authorizations, appropriations and markups move ahead; President Trump deploys 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 Marines to LA amidst largely peaceful protests against the administration’s deportation policies; American and Chinese negotiators agree to allow the US access to critically important rare earths as tariffs on China will be capped at 55 percent; the Pentagon reviews the agreement among Australia, Britain and the United States to cooperate on nuclear attack submarines; Russia surges drone attacks on Ukraine as it masses forces for a major offensive to retake territory; talks to craft a ceasefire increasingly diminish as Russia concludes it can win the war; Washington withdraws US diplomats from Iraq as Israel is imminently expected to attack Iran as the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency declares Tehran in breach of nonproliferation obligations as Iranian officials vow to expand their nuclear program.