INAUGURATION DAY: At noon today, Donald J. Trump places his right hand on the Lincoln Bible and takes the oath of office administered by Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts to become the 45th president of the United States.
Trump wakes up in Blair House this morning, attends church with his family across the street. Then the president-elect and his wife Melania walk across Lafayette Square to the White House for tea in the Blue Room with the Obamas before departing in a motorcade to the Capitol around 10:30 a.m. The ceremonies on the west steps of the Capitol begin around 11 a.m., and Trump delivers his inaugural address, which he says he wrote himself, shortly after 12. The Obamas will then depart for Joint Base Andrews for travel to California. The parade kicks off down Pennsylvania Avenue around 3 p.m.
The weather forecast calls for light rain early, then cloudy with showers in the afternoon. High of 48. Chance of rain is 80 percent in the afternoon, about 50 percent when Trump is scheduled to give his big speech. Speaking at a candlelight dinner last night at Washington’s Union Station, Trump said, “It may rain. It might not rain – around 12. The truth is if it really pours, that’s OK because people will realize it’s my real hair and that’s OK. Might be a mess, but it’s my real hair.”
More than 7,500 National Guard soldiers and airmen representing 44 states, three territories and D.C. make up the Joint Task Force-District of Columbia, a special group formed once every four years to help support the inauguration festivities. National Guard support for the inauguration actually goes back to 1789, when the groups that would become the National Guard escorted President-elect George Washington to his inauguration in New York City, according to a Pentagon release.
LOOK, UP IN THE SKY: Two generations of fighter aircraft are scheduled to fly in a close formation during the inauguration. The U.S. Air Force says the flyover will include an F-15 Strike Eagle, an F-16 Fighting Falcon, an F-22 Raptor and an F-35 Lightning II.
At the Pentagon today there is only a skeleton staff on duty, but given the 23,000 workers who fill the building each weekday, even a skeleton staff amounts to hundreds of people, including workers who will change the nameplate on the wall outside the third-floor Office of the Secretary of Defense, as soon as James Mattis is confirmed. Come Monday morning, Mattis will be the only political appointee on the job at the Pentagon.
Good Friday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre), National Security Writer Jacqueline Klimas (@jacqklimas) and Senior Editor David Brown (@dave_brown24). Email us here for tips, suggestions, calendar items and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email and we’ll be sure to add you to our list.
Want to learn more about Daily on Defense? See our introductory video here.
HAPPENING TODAY: Aside from the obvious, the Senate is expected to vote today to confirm both Mattis and retired Gen. John Kelly, who was nominated to serve as the secretary of homeland security. Those are the only Trump Cabinet picks to be “spring-loaded” for quick confirmation, writes Susan Crabtree. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says a vote on Rep. Mike Pompeo, Trump’s choice for CIA director, could come as soon as Monday. Schumer says a few other “non-controversial” nominees could also see votes next week, but says the rest of the Trump nominees constitute a “swamp Cabinet” whose ethical challenges and hard-right positions deserve more scrutiny before they are allowed to join the administration.
OUT WITH THE OLD: Defense Secretary Ash Carter had his “clap out,” where he left the Pentagon for the final time, yesterday. Earlier in the day, he visited Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, where those who were recently killed are buried. Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook tweeted out a photo of the secretary among the headstones, saying that it’s a visit he also made on his first day in the job.
MANY HOLES TO FILL: Trump’s transition team has yet to fill more than 600 executive-level positions in his administration, causing concern for one senator about continuity in the executive branch given that the U.S. bombed Islamic State targets in Libya on Thursday, Kyle Feldscher writes. “The world doesn’t stop and wait for us to have an inauguration,” Sen. Angus King said on CNN. “And, it’s so important for us to have continuity in the national security forum.”
WARNING TO KIM: On his last day on the job, Cook also issued a warning to America’s adversaries not to think Inauguration Day is a window of vulnerability. “But beyond those uniformed members, those people who serve their country in uniform and stand ready to defend this country no matter who the president is, we have a significant number of civilians in this building who are just as dedicated, serving their country, very capable, very experienced. And we look to them to maintain that continuity to ensure that the American people remain protected. And I can assure you they are ready to do that job.” Cook’s statement comes as North Korea appears poised to test-fire a road-mobile ICBM, something the Obama Pentagon promised to shoot down if it posed a threat to the U.S. and its allies. After noon today, that call would go to the new president.
GOODBYE PHONE, HELLO NUKE CODES: Before he heads to the Hill, Trump gets a briefing this morning on the nuclear codes that are always kept close to him in the so-called “nuclear football.” As he assumes the role of commander in chief, he also must become more security conscious, trading in his Android smartphone for a government-issued device with additional security protections, Caitlin Yilek writes. Trump has said he doesn’t use email, though he often fires off tweets from his Android. Last week, Trump said he will continue to tweet from his personal Twitter account to combat media bias. “It’s my only way that I can counteract,” Trump said. “When people make misstatements about me, I’m able to say it and call them out.”
KILLING ISIS: The Pentagon took the unusual step of releasing “pre-strike” drone video of Islamic State terrorists who had fled Sirte, Libya, and had regrouped in the Libyan desert. It was a rare look at how close the U.S. can zoom in on enemy forces, who are apparently unaware their every move is being tracked by an unblinking eye in the sky. You can see the video here, along with the strike by B-2 bombers here. More than 100 satellite-guided 500 pound bombs were dropped on two Islamic State camps, killing an estimated 80 enemy fighters. With no aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, U.S. commanders opted for B-2 stealth bombers, flying a 30-plus hour mission from Missouri to carry out the strike. Pentagon officials say critics who questioned why closer assets in Europe weren’t used, are missing the point.
The Pentagon also announced that a strike in Syria has taken out another al-Qaeda leader. Mohammad Habib Boussadoun al-Tunisi was killed by a U.S. airstrike Jan. 17 near Idlib, Syria. Boussadoun, a Tunisian, was said to be an al-Qaeda external operations leader connected to terrorist plots to attack Western targets. He arrived in Syria in 2014 after spending several years in countries across Europe and the Middle East, where he maintained ties with multiple extremists, according to a Pentagon statement.
‘IRAN DEAL IS DEAD’: Sen. Tom Cotton said he expects Trump to step up enforcement of the Iran nuclear deal but stop short of pulling the U.S. out of the agreement. But that won’t save the deal, David M. Drucker writes. The Arkansas Republican, a vocal opponent of Obama’s deal with Iran to limit the rogue regime’s nuclear weapons program, said Tehran is likely to react to stricter policing by the incoming Trump administration by crying foul and refusing to comply going forward. “I believe the Iran deal is dead,” Cotton said, during an interview with the Washington Examiner’s “Examining Politics” podcast.
GREAT GUNS: There has been much hand-wringing in Washington about the mind-boggling morass of requirements for the purchase of a new handgun for the Army, which since 1985 has been issuing the Beretta M9 as its standard-issue sidearm. The request for proposals for the next general pistol ran almost 700 pages. Yesterday, the Army announced the award of a $580 million contract for the new Modular Handgun System to Sig Sauer, which will provide handguns, accessories and ammunition following an industry-wide competition. “We have optimized private sector advancements in handguns, ammunition and magazines and the end result will ensure a decidedly superior weapon system for our warfighters,” said Steffanie Easter, the Army’s acquisition executive. Following operational testing, fielding of the modular handgun is expected to begin this year.
FAMILY PLANNING: The Department of Veterans Affairs announced a new rule on Thursday that allows veterans and their spouses, who can’t conceive a child naturally because of wounds sustained in combat, to use in vitro fertilization as part of their VA medical care. Congress allowed the department to make the change when it passed the first short-term continuing resolution last year.
RUSSIA REACTS TO SANCTIONS: Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev acknowledged Obama’s imminent departure from the White House with a mocking statement blaming the outgoing administration for the current state of U.S.-Russia relations. Medvedev laid the blame for a host of international crises at Obama’s feet, including the violence in Ukraine. Russia has annexed Crimea, a critical region of Ukraine, and is supporting proxies in eastern Ukraine. But Medvedev argued that the Ukrainian crisis stems from the United States “brazenly interfering in the internal affairs of various countries” and derided the sanctions that Obama imposed in response to the action.
“Ill-considered economic sanctions, which did no one any good, have reduced our cooperation to zero,” Medvedev wrote in a Facebook post published Thursday. “There were the ridiculous individual sanctions that nobody paid attention to. And it doesn’t get any dumber than restricting entry to the United States for the leadership of the Russian parliament, ministers, and businessmen, thus deliberately reducing the possibility of full-fledged contacts and closing the window to cooperation. The bet was on brute force and sheer pressure.”
GITMO, STILL OPEN: There are 41 detainees left at Guantánamo Bay as Obama leaves office today, despite his promise during the 2008 presidential campaign to close the detention center in Cuba, Anna Giaritelli writes. Yesterday, Obama, who has expressed frustration over not being able to deliver on his campaign promise, transferred four more Guantánamo Bay detainees to other countries, according to the Pentagon. Jabran al Qahtani is being transferred to Saudi Arabia, while Ravil Mingazov, Haji Wali Muhammed and Yassim Qasim Mohammed Ismail Qasim will be directed to the United Arab Emirates.
Obama blamed politics as the reason he couldn’t close the prison, Gabby Morrongiello writes. Obama charged Thursday that history will “cast a harsh judgment” on the U.S. for failing to permanently close the military prison at Guantánamo Bay during his administration, and blamed “politics” for that failure in a letter he sent to House Speaker Paul Ryan on his last full day in office. “There is simply no justification beyond politics for the Congress’ insistence on keeping the facility open,” he charged. He said lawmakers “who obstruct efforts to close the facility, given the stakes involved for our security, have abdicated their responsibility to the American people.”
NO MILITARY PARADES, PLEASE: Commentary writer Philip Wegmann is out with an op-ed saying “thanks, but no thanks” to Trump’s idea for big military parades to show off America’s martial strength. “First in war and first in peace, our democracy keeps the two domains separate. The military’s Oath of Enlistment makes clear that the military bows to civilian authority and for most of American history it’s bowed out of the public eye. Parades with rolling tanks, towed missiles, and marching troops, clearly run against that democratic ethos.”
THE RUNDOWN
Navy Times: Navy’s acquisition boss to take over as Trump’s acting Navy secretary on Friday
Washington Post: Trump keeps Obama appointee tasked with helping run the war against ISIS
Military.com: How Will Trump Deal with America’s Longest War?
Breaking Defense: Is Trump, Information Warrior, Key To Defeating Daesh (ISIL)
USNI News: George H.W. Bush Strike Group Leaves for Europe, Middle East on Saturday
Defense One: SPECIAL REPORT: The State of Defense 2017
Defense News: Norwegian Defense Companies Hope to Benefit From F-35 Program Deals
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Military Moves To Clear ‘Ghost Soldiers’ From Afghan Payroll
Bloomberg: Russia Fears That Trump Won’t Be Such A Great Deal After All
Washington Post: Turkey Sees Stronger Ties With Trump
Army Times: Outgoing Army leaders: ‘It has been the greatest honor of our lives’ to serve
Defense News: The US Army Wants a Missile Filled With Drones
UPI: Army demos quadcopter resupply vehicle prototype
Calendar
MONDAY | JANUARY 23
10:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. A panel of think tank experts talks about prospects for the defense budget in the Trump administration. csis.org
TUESDAY | JANUARY 24
8:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW. Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks on a panel about U.S. defense priorities in the Arctic. csis.org
2:30 p.m. Dirksen 342. Rep. Mick Mulvaney, a vocal critic of the overseas contingency operations account, has his confirmation hearing to serve as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. hsgac.senate.gov
5:30 p.m. 1789 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Reporter Graeme Wood talks about his first-hand encounters with the Islamic State. aei.org
WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 25
9:30 a.m. Senate Visitor’s Center 203. The Air Force Association’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace releases a new study on the value of ICBMs and the new ground-based strategic deterrent. mitchellaerospacepower.org
10 a.m. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. The Woodrow Wilson Center hosts an event on NATO and Russia. wilsoncenter.org
3:30 p.m. 1030 15th St. NW. A panel of experts predicts what relations with Iran will look like under the Trump administration. atlanticcouncil.org
FRIDAY | JANUARY 27
12 p.m. 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. Jay Solomon, author of The Iran Wars: Spy Games, Bank Battles, and the Secret Deals That Reshaped the Middle East, speaks at the Heritage Foundation. heritage.org
