On this Washington Roundtable episode of the Defense & Aerospace Report Podcast, sponsored by Bell, our guests in segment one are Michael Bayer, former chairman of the Defense Business Board and the president of the Dumbarton Strategies consultancy, and Arnold Punaro, the chairman of the National Defense Industrial Association and CEO of the Punaro Group consultancy to discuss the ongoing presidential transition and how to best accomplish the monumental task of a peaceful transition of power.
In segment two, our roundtable guests are Dov Zakheim, PhD, former DoD comptroller, now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Gordon Adams, PhD, Non-Resident Fellow at the Quincy Institute, Michael Herson, President and CEO, American Defense International, Byron Callan of the independent equity research firm Capital Alpha Partners and Mackenzie Eaglen of the American Enterprise Institute.
Topics:
— Transition update on President Biden’s cabinet and outlook for Senate confirmation of key national security players
— Biden administration’s unorthodox plan to fill vacancies to ensure departments are staffed until political appointees can take their posts
— Takeaways from Biden’s inaugural address and prospects for unity on Capitol Hill
— New key committee chairs now that Senate control shifted to Democrats
— Challenges ahead as the new administration takes office
— Civil-military relations in wake of revelations of white supremacy and racism in the ranks, as well as role of current and former military members on Jan. 6 insurrection
— Iraq and Afghanistan as nation focuses on domestic challenges like fighting covid and home-grown terrorists
