President-elect Donald Trump said that he may try to ban former Pentagon officials from working for defense contracting firms. “I think I’m going to impose a ban that anybody that gives out these massive military contracts should never ever, be allowed to work, ever — I don’t mean in five years, ten years — should never be allowed to work for those companies that make that equipment,” Trump said at a rally in Baton Rouge, La. Such a ban, if it is possible, would necessitate a dramatic departure from current practice, where retired military officers and civilian Pentagon officials often transition to careers with private military contractors after leaving the DOD. Trump said he was considering such a policy as a way of reforming military acquisitions. “I can see somebody approving a deal they shouldn’t approve,” he said, “and you get stuck with a horrible contract.” Such a ban, he said, would make “a big, big difference because the purchasing in this country is totally out of control.”
Canada’s defense minister Bill Blair said May 13 the Chinese spy balloon's infamous weeklong path over Alaska, Canada, and the continental United States in 2023 was a “wake-up call” for his country as he shuttled around Washington to sell Ottawa's bolstered defense strategy to his American allies.