Punchbowl News: Defense: Crow plots Pentagon oversight

SEDONA, Ariz. — Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) says his party is already mapping out an oversight agenda for the Pentagon if Democrats take control of the House next year. 

The Armed Services Committee member said prioritizing oversight targets would be “really important” because “you can’t do everything at once.” Crow’s comments on Saturday come as fellow Democratic members of the committee released a broader list of priorities that may serve as a roadmap if they win back the chamber. 

“We are actively talking about what an oversight agenda is and should be and nor should we ever apologize for that,” Crow said on the sidelines of the Sedona Forum. “What we’re actually doing is stopping corruption that’s stealing from the American people.”

Crow is also co-chair for candidate recruitment for the DCCC, including national security-centric bids. He was also one of six Democrats in the “illegal orders” video targeted by the Trump administration and saw a fundraising bump after that investigation. 

Here are some of the oversight topics mentioned by Crow.

Protecting troops. Crow wants to look at all aspects of military personnel life — whether it’s the lengthy deployments of ships like the USS Gerald Ford that prevent servicemembers from planning their family lives or avoiding “additional casualties and deaths because of the incompetence and dereliction” by the Trump administration. 

Personnel moves. There’s a desire for answers about leaders with “decades of honorable service being drummed out on a day’s notice,” such as former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth offered no insight into the move, which drew bipartisan ire, during testimony last week to Congress. 

Promotions. Democrats also struggled to get Hegseth to engage on why he removed several Black and female officers from a promotion list during testimony, while he vowed more changes to come. “Pete Hegseth is creating an environment where loyalty, blind loyalty to him … is the primary litmus test for who gets promoted,” Crow said. 

Crow said his constituents have demanded to know why more oversight isn’t occurring on the Iran war and other defense matters.