CNN, citing defense sources, said Pentagon officials are discussing ways to counter a potential order from President-elect Donald Trump.
Officials are “gaming” a variety of scenarios, including President Trump potentially sending in the military to assist in mass deportations and reclassifying federal employees to make it easier to fire them. CNN reported that there is. reported Friday.
“We’re all preparing and planning for the worst-case scenario, but the reality is we still don’t know how things will turn out,” a defense official said, according to CNN.
Republican CNN contributor Scott Jennings criticized the report Friday and suggested disgruntled officials should speak directly to President Trump.
“What does Donald Trump think?” Jennings asked Anderson Cooper, host of “Anderson Cooper 360⁰.” “You should read in the paper tonight that unelected federal officials are meeting at some level about how to thwart or counter the commander-in-chief.”
“This government’s unelected bureaucracy answers to duly elected civilian leaders.”@ScottJenningsKY It criticizes Pentagon officials for reporting secret meetings about how to “interrupt or subdue the commander-in-chief.”
The conspiracy against Trump… pic.twitter.com/Glptqqvw5q
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) November 9, 2024
According to CNN, the biggest concern among unelected officials is the idea that President Trump could return. Schedule Fa Trump-era executive order that made it easier to fire public employees. The order made a group of federal employees “at-will” employees, subject to dismissal based on performance.
“My emails have been flooding in on this,” a defense official told CNN, referring to Schedule F.
president joe biden abolished Schedule F within your first week on the job. (Related: President Trump reveals the names of two people who will not serve in his administration)
President Trump had previously vowed to restore order, insisting in a video that he would restore order in 2023 and “use that authority very aggressively.”
Current Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has warned of “inappropriate political abuse” against career civil servants, while President Trump has called some in the Pentagon “rogue bureaucrats.”
According to CNN, other defense officials are concerned about the possibility that President Trump could authorize the military to assist in mass deportations of local and state police.
One military official said he could imagine Trump ordering thousands of troops to the border.
Officials also cited comments Trump has made about political opponents such as California Democratic Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff, saying he would use the military to fight the “enemy within.” He told CNN that he was concerned that this could happen.
“I think the bigger problem is the people inside. There are some very bad people. Some are sick. Radical leftist lunatics,” President Trump told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo in October. “And it could very easily be dealt with by the National Guard if necessary, or by the military if really necessary, because they can’t allow that to happen.”
According to a CNN report, officials speculate that President Trump’s relationship with the Pentagon (Department of Defense) could be very different in his second term than in his first term. (Related: How Trump could shape the justice system in his second term)
“The relationship between the White House and the Department of Defense has been really, really bad… so we know that the top priority is how to choose the people to bring into the Pentagon this time,” the outlet reported. An unknown official.
Many of President Trump’s most vocal critics in the 2024 election cycle were former Trump appointees, including former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and former Chief of Staff John Kelly. Mr. Kelly likened Mr. Trump to a fascist and claimed that Mr. Trump admired Adolf Hitler, which was Mr. Trump’s claim. rejected.
