ceremony. heat transferred it to patrick shanahan over the phone. in his first message, shanahan told him as acting secretary of defense i now look forward to working with president trump to carry out his vision, alongside strong leaders including the service secretaries, the joint chiefs of staff, the combatant commanders, and senior personnel in the office of the secretary of defense. officials say one of the biggest threats he faces is china, who celebrated 2019 with a flag racing into in tiananmen squar. including the launch of a new type of ballistic missile from a submarine in november. experts say the u.s. must spend more on defense to keep pace. the author of a blockbuster report issued late last year says americans reached the point of a full-blown national security crisis. losing to china or russia in a war. the pentagon would need would be treading water for got a $700 billion for even the