Trump eyes changes to military as he prepares for next term

President Donald Trump could reshape the military during his next term in the White House with plans to invest in research, higher pay for troops and making sure veterans have access to housing.

Trump focused his campaign on the economy, high prices and illegal immigration, but he and the Republican Party also have plans to transform the U.S. Department of Defense. That includes ditching “woke” policies. 

“Republicans will ensure our Military is the most modern, lethal and powerful Force in the World,” the GOP wrote in its 2024 platform. “We will invest in cutting-edge research and advanced technologies, including an Iron Dome Missile Defense Shield, support our Troops with higher pay, and get woke Leftwing Democrats fired as soon as possible.”

Trump vowed on the campaign trail to shift money to housing homeless veterans and end the problem by the end of his term.

“On Day One, I will sign an Executive Order to cut off Joe Biden’s massive spigot of funding for shelter and transport of illegal aliens and redirect a portion of those savings, a very large portion I might add, to provide shelter and treatment for homeless American Veterans,” Trump said last year in a video message. “I will make it a personal mission to totally eradicate Veterans’ homelessness in America by the end of next term.”

Trump has started choosing a cabinet and selecting other high-ranking administration officials after his presidential election victory. His military picks could affect the direction of the Pentagon. 

Peter Feaver, a professor of political science and public policy at Duke University, said Trump’s personnel decisions will shape policy.

“First, as in Trump’s first term (and as in all presidential administrations), personnel will shape policy, and various factions will jockey for influence – some with radical ideas about transforming the administrative state and American foreign policy, others with more conventional views,” Feaver wrote in Foreign Affairs. “This time around, however, the more extreme factions will have the upper hand, and they will press their advantage to ice out more moderate voices, hollow out the ranks of civilian and military professionals they see as ‘the deep state,’ and perhaps use the levers of government to go after Trump’s opponents and critics.”

Feaver told The Center Square that Trump “will have a freer hand” than during his first term.

“On the other hand, the world is a far more dangerous place,” Feaver said. 

Who Trump picks to lead the Pentagon will be critical, he added.

During his first term in office, Trump created the U.S. Space Force and increased defense spending. Defense spending continued to grow under President Joe Biden.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that the military was committed to an orderly transition, would refrain from becoming involved in politics and would carry out all “lawful orders,” he wrote in a memo to troops on Thursday.

While in Florida on Thursday, a reporter asked Austin if Trump would politicize the military and hurt alliances. Austin said he was confident in the organization’s structure. 

“I won’t speculate on what could happen, I will tell you that we have an incredibly professional group of leaders in the military, and they are absolutely focused on doing the right things to maintain the competitive edge in the battlespace,” he said. “Acquiring the right capabilities, developing the right policies and procedures and tactics, and strengthening the alliances and partnerships that we need to be successful – and they will remain focused on that. What happens above and beyond that, we’ll have to see.”

Austin said he also had faith in Congress. 

“I totally believe that our leaders will continue to do the right thing no matter what,” he said. “I also believe that our Congress will continue to do the right things to support our military.”

Holland & Knight, a multinational law firm, said in a recent alert that Trump would likely continue on a similar course, as he did during his first, on military alliances.

“Trump will seek to ensure that allies meet defense obligations as he did in his first term and will likely seek to negotiate with Russia,” the firm wrote in a recent alert. “He is a vocal supporter of Israel but has said the war needs to end soon. Finally, he is supportive of Indo-Pacific allies but will encourage Taiwan to play a more active role in its defense.”