Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) recently sent a stern message to outgoing Biden-Harris Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to stop trying to undermine the incoming Trump administration.
In a letter dated November 20, 2024, he wrote to Austin:
I am writing this letter to express my concern that Pentagon officials are attempting to undermine President-elect Trump's administration. It appears that partisans and obstructionists within the Pentagon are laying the groundwork to counter or circumvent President Trump's plans. Both military reform and civil service reform. These actions undermine civilian control of the military and our nation's constitutional structure of government.
Cotton said Pentagon officials are meeting to devise a strategy to counter President-elect Donald Trump's defense policies and “simultaneously falsely suggest that the incoming administration plans to arbitrarily remove uniformed leaders.” He quoted media reports as saying,
He also pointed out to Austin that the day after the election, he sent a memo to all departments commenting that the military would follow President Trump's “lawful orders,” which Cotton said was “not a sign that President Trump was following illegal orders.” “It's a flimsy and baseless insinuation that he will.” ”
Cotton said the Pentagon is also trying to thwart President Trump's plans for “sorely needed” defense civil service reforms.
He noted that Austin released a memo earlier this year on “Integrity and Continuity of the Defense Career Civilian Workforce” that appeared to “hinder efforts to fire poor performers and eliminate unnecessary positions.” pointed out.
He also pointed out that outgoing Comptroller Michael McCord “preached to the incoming administration about avoiding 'self-inflicted wounds' through civil service reform.” As Breitbart News reported, McCord recently objected to calling the Pentagon's seven consecutive failed audits a “failure.”
Cotton also said such tactics are futile because Trump's constitutional powers as commander in chief cannot be limited.
He wrote:
I must observe that these actions and reports only prove the need for reform and fundamental change in the Department of Defense. And, while inappropriate and onerous, of course, these tactics are also useless because no action by the outgoing administration can limit the incoming president's constitutional authority as commander in chief.
“So please stop this nonsense and get on with the job of handing over the reins to the next administration,” he concluded.
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