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.”
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
