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Pentagon bracing for sweeping changes after Trump nominates Pete Hegseth for secretary

Pentagon bracing for sweeping changes after Trump nominates Pete Hegseth for secretary

The Pentagon is bracing for sweeping policy changes under the incoming Trump administration, and some high-level officers could find their careers on the chopping block.  President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host and veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, to lead the Defense Department – an iconoclast whose pick roiled the defense industrial base. With Hegseth, the Trump administration is expected to undo diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) accommodations and training within the military.  “If you want to have a sex change or a social justice seminar, then you can do it somewhere else, but you’re not going to do it in the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Space Force or the United States Marines. Sorry,” Trump said at an Aug. 21 rally in Asheboro, North Carolina.  “The military brass that led these absurd and insulting initiatives will likewise be removed, and they will no longer be in command. They’re going to be gone, gone so fast.” TRUMP NOMINATES PETE HEGSETH TO SERVE AS DEFENSE SECRETARY Longtime generals and high-level officers at the Pentagon could find their jobs under threat – even those who don’t typically qualify as political appointees. “Well, first of all, you got to fire, you know, you got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” Hegseth said on the “Shawn Ryan Show” podcast last week.  “Any general that was involved – general, admiral, whatever – that was involved in any of the DEI woke s**t, it’s got to go,” he added.  Hegseth also wrote in his recent book, “The War on Warriors”: “Our generals are not ready for this moment in history. Not even close. The next President of the United States needs to radically overhaul Pentagon senior leadership to make us ready to defend our nation and defeat our enemies. Lots of people need to be fired.” “At the Pentagon, you can fire generals. Unlike, say, the CIA or the Department of Justice, where it’s hard to fire senior officials, because they’re protected,” said former Rep. Chris Stewart, who has been consulting the transition team on Department of Defense matters.  The transition team is considering a draft executive order that establishes a “warrior board” of retired senior military personnel who would have the power to review three- and four-star officers and recommend removal of any who are unfit for leadership, the Wall Street Journal first reported.  TRUMP’S PICKS SO FAR: HERE’S WHO WILL BE ADVISING THE NEW PRESIDENT Trump may quickly score favor with social conservatives and defense hawks by rolling back an executive order President Joe Biden signed that lifted a ban on transgender people from serving in the military.  Transgender people were allowed to begin openly serving in the military in 2016 under an executive order of the Obama administration. But in 2017, Trump announced he would reimpose that ban.  “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail,” Trump said in a social media post at the time.  Trump’s ban ordered the discharge of anyone diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and prompted a flurry of lawsuits.  The Trump Pentagon is also expected to roll back a Biden-era policy allowing troops to obtain leave and reimbursement if they need to leave the state where they are stationed to seek an abortion.  The policy is rarely ever taken advantage of – the Department of Defense found that only 12 people used it over the course of six months from August to December 2023.  Conservatives have pushed to block the policy since Biden adopted it after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.  The Pentagon requested funding to the tune of $114 million for DEI initiatives in 2024. That money was to be used for “programs and initiatives aimed at furthering DEIA, and incorporating DEIA values, objectives, and considerations in how we do business and execute our missions.” Expect a major undoing of diversity initiatives.  “DEI amplifies differences, creates grievances, and excludes anyone who won’t bow down to the cultural Marxist revolution ripping through the Pentagon. Forget DEI — the acronym should be DIE or IED. It will kill our military worse than any IED ever could,” Hegseth wrote in Chapter 8. “The Left isn’t just interested in purging Trump supporters. Their ideology is based on marginalizing whatever’s normal, because they think ‘normal’ is always oppressive. By their logic, the military runs on the most normal and most oppressive thing of all: strong men. Just being a guy who hits the gym means you’re oppressing everyone around you,” he wrote.  “A big reason for fewer training accidents is – less training. More time than ever is being spent on social justice PowerPoint moralizing – and meeting those metrics in today’s military is the most important standard to meet,” he wrote. “Every unit knows that social justice, trans, gender, woke training is the top priority. Not doing this training, or not doing it properly, will get a commander or junior leader fired. Not doing real field training becomes secondary.”

What is reconciliation, the tool Republicans want to use to ‘push the outer limits’ on federal policy?

What is reconciliation, the tool Republicans want to use to ‘push the outer limits’ on federal policy?

Republicans are already making big plans for the 119th Congress, many of which center on using a legislative maneuver called reconciliation.  GOP leaders have suggested they are planning a mammoth-sized bill to implement President-elect Trump’s tax policies, lower the federal deficit and enact conservative policies early next year. Reconciliation is a way to fast-track legislation on issues like taxes, the debt limit and federal spending by bypassing the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for passage, instead lowering it to a simple 51-vote majority. Republicans also accuse Democrats of pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable in a reconciliation bill, and have signaled they may take a similar path in pushing for stricter border security measures while loosening restrictions on American energy production. MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN AFTER TRUMP ENDORSEMENT “Though there are Senate rules limiting what we can fit in budget reconciliation, I want us to be bold and creative so we can include as many reforms in this package as possible,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., wrote to House Republicans earlier this month. “Democrats expanded what is traditionally allowed in reconciliation, and we intend to do the same. Now is the time to go big to advance conservative policies that will make our country prosperous and secure again.” Generally, reconciliation is only used once per year, and lawmakers usually reserve it for instances where they hold both houses of Congress.  MATT GAETZ FACES GOP SENATE OPPOSITION AFTER TRUMP SELECTION FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL In recent history, most reconciliation bills have been started in the House of Representatives, where the Constitution dictates tax policy must originate.  House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, whose committee will be at the forefront of crafting the reconciliation bill, told Fox News Digital he is already working with House GOP leaders and his Senate counterparts on the legislation. “We’re going to push the outer limits to include as much pro-growth strategy as we can. One of those would be regulatory reform,” Arrington said. “Another one will be border security and immigration reform.” The third goal Arrington raised was “to unravel the chokehold on domestic energy production.” “We have H.R. 2, and then we have H.R. 1, the two big legislative priorities for our conference – secure the border and unleash American energy,” he said. “I think the things in there that can be included in reconciliation and pass the Byrd rule. We’re going to be aggressively advancing those policies.” The “Byrd rule” refers to the Senate parliamentarian weighing a reconciliation bill for what measures are relevant to budgetary and tax policy, and what must be removed. Democrats wanted to use reconciliation in 2021 to pass progressive immigration policies that would have included granting citizenship to millions of people, including those brought to the U.S. illegally as children. REPUBLICANS PROJECTED TO KEEP CONTROL OF HOUSE AS TRUMP PREPARES TO IMPLEMENT AGENDA They also attempted to include a federal $15 minimum wage in a reconciliation bill – a charge led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. But the parliamentarian ruled against both of those proposals. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP It remains to be seen what Republicans will be able to include in their bill next year. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, a lot of restoration to do on the fiscal side,” Arrington said. “It’s part pro-growth strategies, and the other is part bending the curve on spending, and especially focused on mandatory spending. And I think there are a lot of straightforward ways to do it, common sense things that the American people from both sides of the political aisle will say are long overdue.”

Trump would need congressional approval to dissolve Education Department, experts say

Trump would need congressional approval to dissolve Education Department, experts say

President-elect Trump wants to abolish the Department of Education (DOE), but experts suggest the incoming commander in chief would need congressional approval before doing so. “One thing I’ll be doing very early in the administration is closing up the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., and sending all education and education work it needs back to the states,” Trump said on the campaign trail. As Trump solidifies his agenda for a second term, attorneys explained the legal process he would have to go through before proceeding with plans to dissolve the federal department. Andrew Stoltmann, an attorney and law professor, told Fox News Digital Trump would need approval from a supermajority in Congress to do away with the DOE. BETSY DEVOS JOINS TRUMP’S CALL TO ‘DISBAND’ THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND ‘RE-EMPOWER’ FAMILIES “President Trump does not have the ability to eliminate a federal department. Eliminating it would require congressional action, including a supermajority of 60 votes in the Senate,” Stoltmann said. “So, even if Trump can follow through with what he says, he has to pull in some Democrats in the Senate, and that will likely be impossible.” TRUMP PLANS TO SHIFT SCHOOL FUNDING CONTROL TO LOCAL COMMUNITIES, HAS YET TO PICK DOE SECRETARY Stoltmann suggested the most realistic scenario is if Trump appoints someone aligned with his agenda to head the department. “He would need 60 votes in the Senate, and the realistic chances of that are virtually zero,” he told Fox. “Trump‘s best bet is to appoint somebody who will effectively be a figurehead at the Department of Education. This doesn’t eliminate the department, but it effectively neuters it during his term.” Jamie E. Wright, a political pundit and founder of the Wright Law Firm, told Fox that to dissolve the department, Congress would need to pass new legislation that addresses the laws establishing and sanctioning the department. “To pass such a bill successfully into law would require backing from members of Congress for the president’s agenda to advance smoothly through the legislative process — an endeavor that may present obstacles should opposition arise from legislators who consider the Department of Education crucial in ensuring consistent national educational guidelines and federal funding allocation for education initiatives,” Wright told Fox.  “Removing an agency could pose a challenge due to the need for widespread political backing, unity in Congress and broad public approval.”  Republicans have called to dismantle the agency for decades since former President Carter established the department in 1979. Former President Reagan championed abolishing the education department and that decisions regarding schools be determined at the local level. Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., introduced legislation in 2023 to “abolish the Department of Education and to provide funding directly to states for elementary and secondary education,” but the bill did not pass. If the department remains intact, there are several candidates rumored to be potential candidates to head the education unit under Trump, including his former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

Brazil welcomes PM Modi with vedic chants and traditional festivities ahead of G20 summit

Brazil welcomes PM Modi with vedic chants and traditional festivities ahead of G20 summit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was welcomed by Brazilian Vedic scholars chanting Sanskrit mantras upon his arrival in Brazil for the G20 summit on Monday. The group of Vedic scholars, comprising men and women of all ages, sang melodious Sanskrit shlokas in PM Modi’s presence. They were dressed in traditional Indian attire, and the Prime Minister keenly listened to their harmonious recitation.