Democrats leveraged Trump's fixation on Space Force to pursue parental-leave victory
When Congress took up a must-pass defense bill earlier this year, President Trump saw it as a rare opportunity to win approval for Space Force — his proposed sixth branch of the military — ahead of the 2020 election.
White House advisers, told by the president to make Space Force the top priority in negotiations, were prepared at times to consider dramatic concessions.
Negotiators discussed major changes to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba, or limits on the White House’s use of the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force to pursue broad military powers, according to two people familiar with the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the internal talks.
Ultimately, Democratic lawmakers and the White House ultimately struck a tentative bargain late last week to create Space Force in exchange for new parental-leave benefits for the federal workforce. If approved, it would be the biggest victory for federal employees in nearly 30 years.
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