Page 7 – Defense Daily

Elon Musk’s New Government Efficiency Job: Pros and Cons for the Satellite Industry

Elon Musk will co-lead a newly created Department of Government Efficiency in the Trump administration, president-elect Trump said late Tuesday.

According to Trump’s press statement, the Department of Government Efficiency will “provide advice and guidance from outside of government,” indicating that Musk will not hold an official government position.

This role will likely raise concerns about conflicts of interest even if Musk does not hold an official government position. Government employees are prohibited from participating in official matters where they have a financial interest.

Musk’s company SpaceX has billions of dollars in U.S. government contracts through launch services, NASA crew transport, Starlink internet service, and the Starshield government version.

The administration’s announcement provided few details on what the Department of Government Efficiency will look like, but Trump’s statement said that it will “pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies.

Musk will co-lead the department with Vivek Ramaswamy, with a timetable to conclude the work no later than July 4, 2026.

Space industry analyst Chris Quilty told Via Satellite that as spaceflight is a heavily regulated industry, Elon and SpaceX could stand to benefit from deregulation under a Trump administration.

Musk has been personally critical of the agencies that regulate SpaceX, both the FCC and Federal Aviation Administration. SpaceX has criticized decisions by the regulatory agencies as well, particularly the FCC revoking nearly $1 billion in funding for Starlink as part of the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund. SpaceX has also criticized the FAA for the pace the regulator approves licensing materials.

But any decisions or recommendations from Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency related to the space industry or the regulatory bodies that oversee SpaceX could be heavily scrutinized, Quilty said.

“If you’re [a satellite operator] competing with SpaceX in satellite broadband, you don’t want them to get any more preferential treatment for power limits, or things like that,” Quilty said. “You do not want Elon getting more influence where he might be able to influence technical specifications. But on the flip side — it’s a good thing for the industry when he is distracted. No human can do everything, all the time, everywhere.”

Quilty also pointed out that any potential big shakeup decisions in space policy — such as canceling the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion programs — look more complicated when Musk is advising the government and stands to benefit with the Starship rocket, which has large contracts with NASA under the Artemis program.

“You could argue that Elon Musk becoming part of the government may be the savior for those programs because the appearance of impropriety might prevent Trump from doing the right thing,” Quilty said. “The quickest path to the moon is going to be on Starship. But if Elon is part of the government and the strategy is to shoot the program that is Boeing and Lockheed and give money to SpaceX — just because it looks bad doesn’t mean it’s not the right thing to do.”

SpaceX has a deep bench of contracts with the government between NASA and the military. The company is a major provider of launch services to the government for military and civil satellites. The Pentagon used Starlink in Ukraine, and the military can procure communications from SpaceX under the Proliferated Low-Earth Orbit (PLEO) satellite-based services program.

SpaceX provides the only U.S.-based transport for NASA astronauts to and from ISS, and won a contract this year to develop a vehicle to deorbit the ISS.

Some of the contracts are classified, like a $1.8 billion contract with the National Reconnaissance Office to build hundreds of spy satellites, which Reuters reported earlier this year.

This story was first published by Via Satellite

Starfish Gets $29 Million In New Funding To Complete Development Of Otter Spacecraft

Starfish Space on Wednesday announced a new funding round that will allow it to complete development and build of three spacecraft that will be used for on-orbit docking and maneuvering missions for several customers, including the U.S. Space Force.

The $29 million fund raise follows an earlier Series A round and brings the Washington-based company’s total funding to more than $50 million.

Starfish is developing three Otter servicing spacecraft for the Space Force, NASA, and Intelsat [INTEQ].

“This new round of funding is a pivotal moment in the journey of Starfish Space, as it will allow us to launch the first Otter satellites to orbit,” Austin Link, a company co-founder, said in a statement.

In May, U.S. Space Systems Command awarded the small company a $37.5 million Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) for Otter to dock with, and augment maneuvers of, national security space assets (

Defense Daily, May 20). Starfish is required to provide $30 million in venture capital investment as part of the STRATFI award.

For Intelsat, Otter will be used for a life extension mission, and for NASA a debris inspection operation in low Earth orbit. The missions for Intelsat and the Space Force, which will launch to geostationary orbit, are set for 2026.

Starfish’s proprietary CETACEAN and CEPHALOPOD software systems provide autonomous navigation and docking capabilities, and the company’s Nautilus capture mechanism is designed to lock with client satellites.

Shield Capital led the funding raise with major participation from new investors Point72 Ventures, Booz Allen Hamilton’s [BAH] venture unit, Aero X Ventures, Trousdale Ventures, and TRAC VC. Existing investors Munich Re Ventures, Toyota Motor Corp.’s [TM] venture arm, NFX, and Industrious Ventures also contributed.

Starfish has 70 employees.

Navy Awards Kongsberg $961 Million Contract For Naval Strike Missiles

The Navy awarded Norway’s Kongsberg a $961 million multiyear contract for the Naval Strike Missile (NSM), also known as the Over the Horizon-Weapons System encanistered missiles.

NSMs are currently deployed on both

Freedom-variant and Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ships, have been tested in Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, and planned to be fielded on the under-construction Constellation-class frigate.

The Tuesday award did not disclose numbers of the missiles, but it includes options that, if exercised, would raise the total value to $1.14 billion.

The award specifically goes to Kongsberg’s U.S. subsidiary, Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace (KDA).

The Navy’s Program Executive Office for Integrated Warfare Systems (PEO IWS) noted the missile provides the U.S. and allies with a long-range anti-surface offensive strike capability while also improving coastline defense, deterrence and interoperability.

The Navy argued the multiyear nature of the contract will save the service $206 million over individual awards while helping keep the munitions industrial base stable.

“This multi-year procurement contract delivers on the Department of the Navy’s commitment to build capability and capacity in the near-term by making our platforms more lethal,” Nickolas Guertin, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition (ASN-RDA), said in a statement.

“By making the right targeted investments, we ensure we deliver a balance of warfighter-ready capabilities at the right time, scale, and cost,” he continued.

“This Over the Horizon – Weapons System contract will help ensure our Navy is ready to preserve the peace, respond in crisis, and win decisively in conflict if called. It supports ongoing efforts to put more munitions on more platforms in more places to prevail on a globalized battlefield,” Rear Adm. Tom Dickinson, Program Executive Officer for Integrated Warfare Systems, added.

This award comes less than two months after Kongsberg announced it will build its second international factory to build and support NSMs in Virginia. That facility is expected to be operational by 2027 (Defense Daily, Sept. 17).

In August, Kongsberg first announced its first non-Norway NSM factory in Australia (Defense Daily, Aug. 22).

New Senate GOP Leader Thune Open To Recess Appointments, Analysts See ‘Difficult’ Path For SecDef Pick

Newly elected Senate Republican leader John Thune (R-S.D.) reiterated his openness on Wednesday to potentially allowing recess appointments to skirt around the traditional confirmation process and quickly install President-elect Trump’s cabinet picks.

Thune told reporters the Senate GOP will “explore all options” when it comes to considering nominees, with the comments following analysts’ prediction that Pete Hegseth, Trump’s pick for secretary of defense, is likely to face a “very difficult” pathway to confirmation.

U.S. Senator John Thune, of South Dakota, and his wife Kimberley, eat lunch in the Powidz Air base dining facility, Powidz, Poland, with a Soldier mobilized to Poland in support of Atlantic Resolve during a Congressional delegation visit to Powidz Air Base February 16. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Master Sgt. Ryan C. Matson, 652nd Regional Support Group)

“What we’re going to do is make sure that we’re processing his nominees in a way that gets them into those positions so they can implement his agenda. How that happens remains to be seen. Obviously, we want to make sure our committees have confirmation hearings like they typically do and that these nominees are reported out to the floor. But, I’ve said this, and I mean it, that we expect a level of cooperation from the Democrats to work with us to get these folks installed. And obviously we’re going to explore all options to make sure that they get moved and that they get moved quickly,” Thune said in a press conference.

Senate Republicans on Wednesday voted Thune as the party’s next leader in the upper chamber, with the GOP set to hold the majority in the next Congress. The South Dakota Republican is set to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) in the role he’s held since 2005.

Thune, who has been the GOP Whip since 2019, defeated Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) for the leader position.

Ahead of Wednesday’s leader election, Trump had demanded that the Senators being considered agree to allowing recess appointments in the next Congress, which would let the president to bypass the required Senate confirmation vote to “temporarily” install his cabinet picks while the upper chamber is out of session and lets those officials stay in that position for up to two years.

“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner. Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY!” Trump wrote in a Nov. 10 social media post.

Thune, along with Cornyn and Scott, signaled an openness to Trump’s call for recess appointments ahead of Wednesday’s vote.

“We must act quickly and decisively to get the president’s nominees in place as soon as possible, [and] all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments. We cannot let Schumer and Senate Dems block the will of the American people,” Thune wrote in a Nov. 10 social media post.

The recess appointment process could potentially be used to quickly install Trump’s nominee to lead the Pentagon, Fox News host and Army veteran Hegseth, who was considered a surprising selection that lacks the policy, leadership or governing experience typically associated with defense secretary picks (Defense Daily, Nov. 12).

“Hegseth is an extremely unusual selection who does not have an established record on foreign policy and defense issues,” Roman Schweizer, an analyst with TD Cowen, wrote on Wednesday, noting the Fox News host is a “strident supporter and defender” of Trump.

Schweizer added he believes Hegseth would face a “very difficult” Senate confirmation process, even with Republicans holding the majority.

“Over the last 12 hours, there have been no GOP Senators who have come out against Hegseth, but several have said they are unaware of his background and qualifications,” Schweizer said.

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee that will handle Hegseth’s confirmation hearing, was asked about his thoughts on Trump’s administration picks so far during a Wednesday discussion at the American Enterprise Institute.

“I’m excited,” Schmitt said. “I’m really happy with the picks.”

Hegseth, a former infantry platoon leader in the Army National Guard, has not discussed many specifics on his priorities for modernization or weapons programs and approach to China and Ukraine policies, while a recent appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show podcast offered a view into his focus on removing diversity and “woke” efforts at the Pentagon.

“The deeper question is, how did the military allow itself to go woke? How did our general class, how did our military academies? How did military leaders…The dumbest phrase on planet Earth, in the military, is our diversity is our strength,” Hegseth said during the discussion.

During the discussion, Hegseth called for firing Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has supported many of the Pentagon’s efforts to bolster diversity, equity and inclusion in the department.

“Any general that was involved, general, admiral, whatever that was involved in, any of the DEI woke shit, has got to go. Either you’re in for warfighting and that’s it. That’s the only litmus test we care about,” Hegseth said.

Byron Callan, an analyst with Capital Alpha Partners, said on Wednesday that potential for abrupt dismissals of senior military leaders over such issues “could be disruptive to DoD programs and priorities.”

Hegseth, during the interview, also questioned whether women should serve in combat roles in the military.

“I’m just straight up saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated,” Hegseth said. “We’ve all served with women and it’s great. It’s just, our institutions don’t have to incentivize that in places where…over human history, men in those positions are more capable.”

Trump on Wednesday also announced he has picked Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, to be his attorney general, which is another nomination that could face potential headwinds in the Senate confirmation process.

House Speaker Johnson (R-La.) had said on Tuesday he didn’t expect more House GOP members to be tapped for jobs in the Trump administration, following Rep. Mike Waltz’s (R-Fla.) selection as national security adviser and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to be UN ambassador, noting Republicans’ narrow majority margin (Defense Daily, Nov. 12).

“We have a really talented Republican conference. We’ve got really competent, capable people here. Many of them could serve in really important positions in the new administration. But President Trump fully understands and appreciates the math here and it’s just a numbers game,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “Every single vote will count because if someone gets ill or has a car accident or a late flight on their plane [then] it affects the votes on the floor. I think [Trump] and the administration are well attuned with that.”

SDA Taps Kratos For Missile Defense Fire Control Ground Infrastructure

The Space Development Agency (SDA) on Tuesday said it has awarded Kratos Defense & Security Solutions [KTOS] a potential $116.7 contract to create and operate a missile defense fire control ground infrastructure in support of prototypes and potential operations.

Under the five-year award, a Kratos-led team will deliver and manage ground segment resources, equip and manage the government-owned, contractor-operated Demonstration Operations Center, manage a cloud environment purchased by the government for cloud services to include hosting space vehicle mission operations center software and interfacing with mission partner systems, and provide program management, systems engineering, integration, operations and maintenance of SDA’s Advanced Fire Control Ground Infrastructure (AFCGI).

The ground infrastructure will also be a key part of SDA’s Fire-control On Orbit-support to the warfighter (FOO Fighter) prototype system, a constellation of eight missile defense fire control satellites that Boeing’s [BA] Millennium Space Systems business is designing and building. The FOO Fighter satellites are slated to launch in late 2026 and are being designed to detect and track advanced missile threats, including hypersonic missiles.

Kratos said it will provide a Ground Resource Manager (GRM) based on its software-defined, cloud-native OpenSpace Ground Platform that will be built for FOO Fighter and future fire control demonstrations. The GRM will ensure that spacecraft built by different vendors can integrate their command-and-control missions into the AFCGI.

In addition to FOO Fighter, SDA said that the AFCGI will also support future fire-control demonstration programs for helping to counter advanced missile threats.

“The AFGCI will serve as a standing sandbox for exploring and validating new technologies, solutions and techniques to address these threats with commensurate speed and agility,” Phil Carrai, president of Kratos’ Space Division, said in a statement. “The GRM will enable the Space Force to capitalize on the best of breed technologies from across the most advanced developers, and seamlessly integrate an orchestrate their operations.”

Kratos received $17 million in initial funding for the AFCGI award using a combination of fiscal year 2024 and 2025 research and development funds. The company’s teammates include ASRC Federal Systems Solutions, Peraton, Sphinx Defense, and Stellar Solutions.

Anduril Touts Lattice Integration With Multiple Sensors In CENTCOM’s Desert Guardian

Anduril Industries this week said its Lattice operating system was used to integrate multiple third-party sensors into a single dashboard during a recent exercise to provide a common operating picture of threats posed by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

Anduril said it integrated more than 10 sensor teams into its command-and-control platform to support operations from UAS detection to defeat as part of Exercise Desert Guardian, which was managed by U.S. Central Command at the Army’s Fort Drum, N.Y., Sept. 30-Oct. 4. The end result was real-time fusion and data sharing across the different sensor systems, Anduril said on Nov. 12.

Some of the sensors were integrated into Lattice in real-time, demonstrating the speed at which the open systems platform can be ready for operational use, Anduril said. The company compared ease of using Lattice with other command-and-control platforms that can take months to sort out and are manually intensive.

CENTCOM used the exercise to see how well it, and its industry partners, could make use of different sensors and quickly integrate them. Currently, warfighters at the command are using multiple screens to observe sensor outputs, “trying to yell back and forth, and basically swivel chair figuring out what is a threat and what’s not a threat,” Air Force Lt. Col. Nathaniel Huston, CENTCOM’s director of innovation, said in early October in a video posted by the Defense Department about Desert Guardian.

Schuyler Moore, then CENTCOM’s chief technology officer, said having a single screen instead of 12 to look at improves the decision-making cycle and will save lives.

One of the sensors integrated into Lattice was Lockheed Martin

’s [LMT] Q-53 multi-mission radar that it supplies to the Army. The Q-53 can detect and track mortars, rockets, artillery, and UAS, providing counter-target acquisition in a single sensor.

“We are adapting to our customers’ mission and developing capabilities that will benefit operators,” David Kenneweg, director of multi-mission air defense radars at Lockheed Martin, said in a statement.

The Army’s current interfaces for the Q-53 are the Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System supplied by Leidos [LDOS] and Northrop Grumman‘s [NOC] Forward Area Air Defense C2 platform.

U.S., Canada And Finland Formalize Effort On Polar Icebreaker Development And Production

Officials from the U.S., Canada, and Finland on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that formally launches a trilateral effort to share resources and knowhow to develop and produce polar icebreakers.

The Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE) Pact was first announced in July and will allow the U.S. to leverage the significant shipbuilding capabilities from two of the world’s leading producers of polar icebreakers (Defense Daily, July 11). It also bolsters U.S. and allied efforts to operate and maintain a presence in the Arctic and counter any attempts by Russia, and even China, to exploit the region’s resources solely for themselves.

Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, combined with its ongoing icebreaker construction programs, was a wakeup call.

“Previously, the Arctic and its fragile environments offered untapped business potential to be realized in a sustainable way,” Wille Rydman, Finland’s Minister of Economic Affairs, said in Washington, D.C., prior to the signing of the MoU. “But as said, now our concerns are different. Current geopolitical situation means that we must be able to operate in the polar regions to maintain peace and stability, without which there is no or limited room for new, faster shipping lanes, nor the sustainable exploration of raw materials.”

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the Arctic’s resources are valuable for economic and military security, adding that the Coast Guard and Navy cannot “fall behind” in their Artic capabilities.

“Ceding these reserves and the batteries, semiconductors, magnets and energy resources that are derived from them to our adversaries in Russia, or to our rivals in the People’s Republic of China, could soon lead to higher prices at our gas pumps and on our heating bills,” Mayorkas warned. “It could jeopardize the readiness of our armed forces. It could compromise the security of our computers, cars and cell phones, and in a crisis, it could subject us to Russian or Chinese largesse in order to access essential goods like food and medical supplies, among many other risks.”

Finland is a world leader in icebreaker design and construction while Canada maintains a fleet of heavy, medium, and light icebreakers and is preparing to build a new Arctic fleet.

Canada is also home to Davie, a multinational shipbuilder that also has operations in Finland, and is a leader in icebreaker construction. Davie in July said that as a result of the ICE Pact, it plans a long-term commitment in the U.S. and is in discussions with a shipbuilding partner and a site in the U.S. (Defense Daily, July 29).

The U.S. Coast Guard operates the nation’s only two polar icebreakers, the heavy Polar Star and the medium Healy, commissioned in 1976 and 1999, respectively, and both operating beyond their planned service lives.

Bollinger Shipyards in Louisiana is under contract to build two, and at least three, new heavy icebreakers for the Coast Guard. However, given the complexity of designing and building a new heavy icebreaker combined with the general lack of domestic experience doing so, the first polar security cutter (PSC) is not expected to be delivered before fiscal year 2029, five years later than originally planned. Construction of the PSC has not begun.

With the MoU signed, the trilateral partners will work on an implementation plan. The partners hope that the ICE Pact consolidates demand for icebreakers to reduce costs for themselves and allied and partner customers, gives more work to their respective shipyards, and builds out domestic supply chains for the vessels.

There are four components to the partnership, including enhanced information exchange, collaboration on workforce development, engaging with other allies and partners, and research and development.

USAF Eyes $100,000 Per Copy Munitions

The U.S. Air Force’s inventory of high-end munitions is sufficient, as the service moves to field lower-cost, $100,000 models in the coming years to bolster capacity to deter China and Russia, an Air Force official said on Tuesday.

Such munitions may include the “Franklin” low-cost cruise missile–so named as a nod to soul legend Aretha Franklin and her hit song Respect. The homage is also meant to connote “respect” for the low-cost, high-punch missile under development, though the “Franklin” name may change, Air Combat Command (ACC) said.

“We’re going pretty good when you look at air-to-air in the future and some counter-maritime, but the problem is they’re expensive, and we don’t have a lot of these weapons,” Lt. Gen. Michael Koscheski, the deputy head of ACC, told the inaugural Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies’ Airpower Futures Forum in Arlington, Va.

“We’re enhancing F-35 capabilities with the Stand-in Attack Weapon and Joint Strike Missile,” he said. “Capability–we’re there, but what about the capacity part? That’s where we’re looking at things like ‘Franklin,’ an affordable mass capability. Say, instead of a $1.5 million JASSM, we have a $100,000 weapon that can go about 500 miles and punch a hole in a ship. It doesn’t decisively have to do that, but the [enemy ship] captain has got to be threatened and honor those weapons because now that mass will make our higher-end weapons more effective and affordable.”

Air Force munitions categories include air-to-air, counter-maritime, suppression of enemy air defenses, long-range kill chain, and “affordable mass.”

Lockheed Martin [LMT] is the contractor for the F-35 and the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), while Norway’s Kongsberg and RTX [RTX] are the contractors for the Joint Strike Missile.

Northrop Grumman [NOC] received a $705 million contract for SiAW development, integration, and rapid prototyping in advance of “rapid fielding” in 2023 (Defense Daily, Sept. 25, 2023).

The Air Force is to field 3,000 SiAWs but, due to the development timeline for SiAW, the Air Force has planned to procure AARGM-ERs as a fill-in until the service can field SiAW.

Each SiAW, which the Lockheed Martin F-35A is to carry, may cost more than $1.5 million.

An Air Force official recently disclosed that a low-cost cruise missile is in the final stages of development by Leidos [LDOS] and has made the cut line for funding by U.S. Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM) in fiscal year 2026 (Defense Daily, Oct. 4).

SOCOM plans to fund the small cruise missile (SCM) in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, but the command already has funds set aside for the program to allow funding this fiscal year so that Leidos delivers an operational capability by late that fiscal year, said the official.

If successful, the SCM effort will have gone from development to a fielded capability in about three-and-a-half years, the official said, citing SOCOM’s rapid acquisition authorities and the fact that Leidos self-funded the system using existing components and subsystems, giving it a high technology readiness level, which also sped up work. Leidos’ Dynetics unit is working on Black Arrow.

SOCOM’s requirement for the SCM was at least a 500 nautical mile range and a greater than 50-pound payload capacity. The price point is between $215,000 and $300,000 per copy for each one-way system depending on the sensor being used, such as a high-end electronic warfare payload, making it very affordable for the capabilities it will provide to warfighters, the official said.

The 250-pound class SCM will be able to deliver a substantial strike package given the warhead capacity and even the missiles equipped for non-kinetic missions will have some explosive capability onboard to deliver kinetic effects in the end, the official said.

SOCOM wants the SCM to be service-common, not just for Special Forces, the official said, highlighting that the Marine Corps is interested in a modified version of the system for launch from a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, better known as HIMARS.

The Leidos-developed SCM has also been a candidate for the Air Force and Defense Innovation Unit enterprise test vehicle (ETV) advanced weapons effort. In June, the government also selected entries from Anduril Industries, Integrated Solutions for Systems, Inc., and Zone 5 Technologies for the ETV program (Defense Daily, June 3).

Trump Picks Fox News Host Pete Hegseth To Be Defense Secretary

President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday evening he has selected Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defense secretary.

Hegseth, an Army veteran, is a surprise pick that was not widely mentioned as a potential nominee to lead the Pentagon in the week following Trump’s election.

Pete Hegseth, a Fox News Contributor, visits the 138th Fighter Wing, Detachment 1, at Ellington Field, TX, on Feb. 1, 2017. Hegseth met with 138th Operations Group personnel, prior to his incentive ride in an F-16 Fighting Falcon, in order to be fully prepared for the experience of flying in a fighter jet. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Drew A. Egnoske)

“Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice – Our Military will be Great Again, and America will Never Back Down,” Trump said in a statement.

If confirmed, Hegseth would be tasked with overseeing the country’s largest employer and leading the Department of Defense as it navigates competition with China, support to Ukraine as Russia’s invasion approaches the three-year mark and continued conflict in the Middle East, to include the war in Gaza.

Trump noted Hegseth, a former infantry platoon leader in the Army National Guard, served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, and has received two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantrymen’s badge.

For the last eight years, Hegseth has been a co-host on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”

Over the last week, names that had been floated for the potential defense secretary nomination included current House Republican lawmakers, such as House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) as reported by Politico, and officials from the first Trump administration, to include former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller.

Trump on Monday announced he had picked Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, to be his national security adviser (Defense Daily, Nov. 12).

House’s Top Defense Appropriator Calvert Projected To Win Reelection

Rep. Ken Calvert, the House’s top defense appropriator, is projected to narrowly win his reelection bid following a competitive race.

While final control of the House in the next Congress is not yet finalized with several races remaining to be called, Calvert would likely look to maintain chairmanship of the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee (HAC-D) with Republicans on track to retain their narrow majority.

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) speaks at the OM&S Warehouse ribbon-cutting ceremony at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division on Nov. 8. 2019. Photo by Sgt. Becky Cleveland, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division

“I’m honored that Riverside County voters have once again placed their trust in me to continue delivering results for them in Washington. This is a hard-fought victory that shows voters want someone who will put results over partisan politics,” Calvert said in a statement on Tuesday, following Decision Desk HQ’s projection of his victory.

Calvert faced a tough challenge from Democrat and former federal prosecutor Will Rollins to represent California’s 41st District, with the Republican projected to win by just over 7,500 votes.

The California Republican, who has served in Congress since 1993, is set to be term-limited in his role atop the HAC-D panel in the next Congress but could potentially seek a waiver to retain his leadership position.

Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.), a member of HAC-D, lost his race for California’s 27th district, with Democrat George Whitesides officially projected as the winner on Monday.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve alongside Rep. Mike Garcia. He has brought valuable experience and expertise to his role on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, he is a respected voice in our Conference, he is a friend. Mike has now served his country in uniform and in Congress, and I have no doubt he’ll find new ways to make a positive contribution in the future,” Calvert said in a statement on Monday.

Garcia, a former Navy F/A-18 pilot and business manager at Raytheon, now RTX [RTX], has been a vocal proponent of Navy programs, to include calling for accelerating fielding of the T-7A trainer (Defense Daily, May 1).

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) acknowledged that several races remain to be called, while projecting the GOP has “kept this majority” in the lower chamber which would set up a unified government along with the newly-controlled GOP Senate and Donald Trump’s reelection to the presidency.

“We kept this majority. We expect that the majority will be larger than time. We still have a number of races outstanding, but we’re very optimistic about those. And we are looking forward to governing in a unified government beginning in January,” Johnson said during a press conference on Tuesday.

House Republicans will likely have to work with a similar narrow margin to the current Congress, which is likely to get temporarily slimmer after Trump picked House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to be U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, to be his national security adviser (Defense Daily, Nov. 12).

Johnson said Tuesday he “doesn’t expect” that the House GOP will have more members leaving for jobs in the next administration as of now, adding he’ll “leave that up to” Trump and that he and the president-elect have spoken “multiple times a day for the last several days” about the GOP’s narrow majority margin.

“We have a really talented Republican conference. We’ve got really competent, capable people here. Many of them could serve in really important positions in the new administration. But President Trump fully understands and appreciates the math here and it’s just a numbers game,” Johnson told reporters. “Every single vote will count because if someone gets ill or has a car accident or a late flight on their plane [then] it affects the votes on the floor. I think [Trump] and the administration are well attuned with that.”

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), chair of the House Armed Services Committee, has reportedly been among the names up for consideration to be the next secretary of defense according to Politico, but that would be less likely with the House GOP already losing two members to the new Trump administration.