Members of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team are currently compiling a list of military officers to be fired, potentially to include the Joint Chiefs of Staff, two sources said, in what would be an unprecedented shakeup at the Pentagon
With confirmation that Republicans have won a majority in the House of Representatives, Donald Trump and his party will now have a governing trifecta in Washington in January, giving the new president a powerful position to implement his right-wing agenda. Even without majorities in both houses of Congress, Trump’s victory in the presidential race already gave him considerable control over U.S. foreign policy and the composition of the federal government, which he is seeking to overhaul. But a Republican trifecta in Washington would give Trump much broader authority to implement his legislative priorities. As The Guardian has described through the Stakes project, Trump’s plans include extending tax cuts, rolling back historic laws signed by Joe Biden and advancing a conservative cultural agenda.
OFFICER REMOVAL
Members of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team are currently compiling a list of military officers to be fired, potentially including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, two sources said, in what would be an unprecedented shake-up at the Pentagon. Planning for the dismissals is in its early stages following Trump’s victory in the Nov. 5 election and could change as the Trump administration takes shape, said the sources, who are familiar with the Trump transition and requested anonymity to speak candidly about the plans.
It was also unclear whether Trump himself would endorse the plan, although in the past he has widely criticized defense leaders who have criticized it. Trump has also spoken during the campaign about firing “smart” generals and those responsible for the troubled 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan. The second source said the incoming administration is likely to focus on US military officers seen as close to Mark Milley, Trump’s former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
ELIMINATING THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
But what does Trump plan to do with American schools and the education system in his second term? He is expected to boost private education, but it is not yet known how. Trump wants every American family to be able to choose whether to send their child to private or public school, according to the program he outlined on the campaign trail. That would likely mean subsidies for attending private schools. One of his priorities is tax breaks for donations to organizations that provide scholarships to private schools. The president-elect has promised to reform education in the US, with greater control over funding and classroom delivery. He announced that he would dismantle the Department of Education and curb “leftist tendencies” in universities, writes “The Wall Street Journal”. Abolishing the Department of Education at the federal level would mean transferring responsibility to individual states.
WAR ON “LEFT-WING IDEOLOGY”
Trump has announced that he will use budgetary power to limit the influence of “leftist ideology” in schools and universities, according to “WSJ”. The president does not have the authority to defund any college or school, but he can use a variety of measures to pressure colleges to address anti-Semitism on campus or to limit the number of seats on campus for transgender students.
Experts say we can recognize Trump’s future policies from what is happening in Republican states like Florida and Texas, which have passed controversial parental rights laws. Another tool Trump has at his disposal against “smart” universities, criticism of racism and “gender madness” is the university accreditation system. He called it his secret weapon, according to the WSJ. Colleges and universities must meet standards set by an independent body to gain access to federal funds. Trump considers the existing policies of these bodies too left-wing, so he could dismantle them.
