Donald Trump was inducted as the 45th United States president on Friday and the Senate voted to confirm both retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis as defense secretary and retired Marine Corps Gen. John Kelly as homeland security secretary.
With an overcast backdrop and 40 degree temperatures, Trump declared in his inaugural address that the U.S. was ready to unlock the “mysteries” of space. Shortly after his inauguration, the Trump administration declared at whitehouse.gov that it would develop a state-of-the-art missile defense system to protect against missile-based attacks from states like Iran and North Korea.
Reinvesting in the military was a central theme of Trump’s successful 2016 campaign. For his part, Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.), a Trump supporter, has proposed a massive funding boost to the Pentagon that could add $430 billion to its budget over the next five fiscal years. Much of this would be focused on readiness and modernization (Defense Daily, Jan. 17).
McCain’s proposed budget boost sounds good to House Armed Services (HASC) tactical air and land forces subcommittee Chairman Michael Turner (R-Ohio). Turner told Defense Daily before the inauguration that McCain’s proposal was a great start for the level the U.S. needs. Turner also said he would prioritize modernization in the 115th Congress and that the Pentagon needs to get the money necessary to ensure the U.S. remains the preeminent military.
The Senate voted 98-1 for Mattis with the only no vote coming from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who also voted against him in committee. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) did not vote. Kelly was confirmed by an 88-11 vote. The Senate planned to vote Monday afternoon on the nomination of Mike Pompeo as CIA director.