ADC Executive Director Matt Borron hosted The Roosevelt Group Principal Matthew Herrmann and POLITICO Pentagon reporter Paul McLeary Thursday on a post-election webinar for ADC members. Here are some of the moments you may have missed.
On a Continuing Resolution
It seems Congress will extend current government spending levels into March, Herrmann said.
“Then you’re back to the same scenario next year as we are in this year, which is getting an appropriation basically in April or early spring and having to execute that in a drastically short period of time,” he said.
The current continuing resolution expires Dec. 20.
On the NDAA
Congressional leaders may release text of the compromise National Defense Authorization Act as early as today, Herrmann and McLeary said, predicting it will pass.
“I think some of the quality of life provisions that were in the House bill but not in the Senate bill will get again watered down, more from a monetary standpoint than ‘we don’t like this policy.’”
On New Voices in the Pentagon
McLeary predicted “culture shock” when the Trump team brings new people into DOD.
“There’s going to be quite a few Silicon Valley VC and startup folks coming in to the Pentagon, and they are going to run right into the Pentagon bureaucracy that we all know and love and struggle with and work within and work around,” McLeary said.
Herrmann agreed the Trump team will “butt heads” with career Pentagon staff over the next four years.
“They’re going to tend more for the innovative stuff, yet the [Pentagon] itself is trending towards, ‘no, we’ve got to put money into readiness because if we think we’re going to war in 2027, I think we’re ready to go to war whether I have the cool toy or not.’”
On Potential Spending Cuts
McLeary said the government efficiency panel led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will have a difficult time making sweeping cuts across the federal government.
“There are unions involved. There are members of Congress with constituencies involved with a lot of jobs,” McLeary said. “Everyone on this call knows not all federal jobs are in Washington, D.C. They’re all over the country. And there are factories, there are widget makers, all kinds of stuff.”
On a Possible BRAC Round
Herrmann noted that the conservative policy document Project 2025 talks about a base closure and realignment process but said he does not think lawmakers will go along.
“I think communities need to be prepared to address that and weigh in with their delegations. If you’re worried about a BRAC, you should be telling your delegation. If you’re not worried about a BRAC, feel free to say that,” Herrmann said.
DOD photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Brittany A. Chase
