Pentagon considers response if Trump sparks chaos in the US
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The Pentagon has begun informal discussions about the US Department of Defense's contingency plan if President-elect Donald Trump makes dangerous decisions. They are concerned about potential mass dismissals of employees "disloyal" to Trump and even the possibility of deploying troops inside the country.
This was reported by CNN with reference to representatives of the Defense Department.
The Pentagon is discussing a plan of action against Trump
The Pentagon is concerned about Donald Trump's statement that he will be ready to use the armed forces to enforce law and order within the country and mass deportations, and also indicated that he wants to staff the federal government with "people loyal to him and clean up corrupt structures" in the US national security system.
In particular, CNN journalists pointed out that during his last term in office, Donald Trump had rather tense relations with most of the senior military leadership, especially with General Mark Milley, who is now retired. At the time, the military officer limited Donald Trump's ability to use nuclear weapons.
The newly elected president has repeatedly made rude and harsh statements about American military generals. He called them "sleeping," "weak," and "ineffective commanders".
The Pentagon does not know what to expect from Trump
"We are all preparing and planning for the worst-case scenario, but the reality is that we don't know how it will happen yet," said one defense official.
In addition, the Pentagon is concerned about how to act if Trump issues an illegal order, for example, and American politicians who are loyal to Trump will not oppose it. However, there is a clause in American law that allows troops to disobey illegal orders. Nevertheless, they are concerned that in such a case, Trump could retaliate by dismissing senior military leaders.
Nevertheless, officials say that Donald Trump will probably try to avoid conflicts with the military.
"The relationship between the White House and the Defense Department has been very, very bad, and so... I know that the first question for them is how they (Trump's representatives — Ed.) are going to select the people who will work in the Defense Department this time," the former government official told CNN.
At the same time, the Pentagon is preparing the so-called "F-list" in advance, a decree that Donald Trump first issued in 2020. If passed, the document would reclassify a huge number of non-political, career federal employees in the US government, allowing Trump to fire them more easily.
"I have full faith that our leaders will continue to do the right thing, no matter what. I also have faith that our Congress will continue to do the right thing to support our military," commented earlier US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Pentagon fears Trump's plans for US military power
In addition, defense officials are worried about how Trump might use American military power domestically, as he said a month ago that the military should be used to fight enemies at home. Moreover, the Pentagon does not have the legal authority to proactively protect its forces from Trump's possible abuse of power.
A former senior Defense Department official who served under Trump says the president-elect will deploy the military to assist customs and border patrol at the southern border, as well as to American cities if asked to help with a mass deportation plan.
Trump can fire anyone he doesn't like
The Pentagon is also contemplating the threat of policy changes. One employee shared that his work email is "flooded" with messages from concerned officials who fear being fired because of their differences with Trump. Again, we are talking about an "F-list" that can circumvent even the tightening of rules to protect federal employees.
As a reminder, the court in Washington has paused the proceedings in the case of Donald Trump's attempt to disrupt the approval of the election results.
Also, Turkish President Recep Erdogan said he believes Trump is able to quickly end the war in Ukraine.
