Senior Trump Air Force official suggested dramatically slashing F-35 jet numbers
The official in charge of purchasing military hardware for the US Air Force suggested slashing the total number of Lockheed Martin F-35 jets for the service by more than half late last year, according to two former defense officials involved in the discussions who spoke with CNN. The news comes as Congressional criticism of the most expensive weapons program in US history grows.
Will Roper, who served as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics for the last three years of the Trump administration, recommended that Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Brown, former Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord, and others reduce the number of jets purchased from 1,763 jets to about 800, the officials said. Roper questioned the cost of the jet, even after former President Donald Trump touted it as “invisible” and the greatest fighter jet
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The first 100 days of President Joe Biden’s administration have come and gone. While somewhat exaggerated, that milestone is normally considered the honeymoon period for any new president. Buoyed by a recent election triumph and inauguration, he’s expected to be at the peak of his power when it comes to advancing the biggest, boldest items on his agenda.
Former acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller said Tuesday during a hearing on the Jan. 6 riot he’d “reassessed” his previous evaluation that former President Trump’s speech that day had.
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
The Democrat-controlled House Oversight Committee held a hearing today on the Capitol riots where the focus, per the way the hearing was billed, was the “unexplained delays and unanswered questions” in the aftermath of what happened on January 6th.
In particular, “this hearing will focus in particular on the Trump Administration’s preparations in advance of January 6 and response to the attacks,” Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney said in a statement posted to the committee’s website.
The hearing included three featured witnesses: Former acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, and Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Contee III.
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Hours before his first appearance in front of a congressional panel investigating the response to the Capitol riot, Donald Trump’s acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller was all set to revive his assessment that the former president “encouraged” his supporters that day.
“I stand by my prior observation that I personally believe his comments encouraged the protesters,” he planned to say, according to his prepared remarks.
But the line was not included in his opening statement to the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, as lawmakers sought to answer why and how the administration failed to stop hundreds of pro-Trump rioters from breaking into the Capitol in an attempt to disrupt the 2020 presidential election results.