President Trump served up a brief summary on Thursday of his achievements in stopping U.S. involvement in "endless" wars, days before he is to leave office.
Trump Appointee to Temporarily Lead Pentagon; Retired Admiral Will Be Spokesman
David Norquist will be Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s acting defense secretary, if only for a few days. A retired rear admiral, John Kirby, will be the Pentagon press secretary.
John F. Kirby, a retired Navy rear admiral, is a veteran government public affairs officer.Credit.Win Mcnamee/Getty Images
Jan. 14, 2021
WASHINGTON A low-profile deputy defense secretary will be the lone Trump holdover running the Pentagon until President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s defense secretary pick is confirmed. Mr. Biden is also planning to install John F. Kirby the former spokesman for John Kerry when he was secretary of state, Chuck Hagel when he was defense secretary and Mike Mullen when he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the next Pentagon press secretary.
“We deal with specifics and facts,” he said. “We have to separate the aspirational from the intentional and determine which of the individuals saying despicable things on the internet are just practicing keyboard bravado.”
That explanation wasn’t good enough for lawmakers outraged that more wasn’t done with the early intel, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
“This is a moment when our entire national security and law enforcement apparatus must be working in complete lockstep,” the Democratic leaders of seven House committees said in a statement. “This was not a peaceful protest that got out of hand. This was an attempted coup to derail our Constitutional process and intimidate our duly elected leaders through violence.”
U.S. diplomats, including President Trump’s son-in-law and Middle East adviser Jared Kushner, elevated the push for normalization deals after Mr. Trump’s 2018 withdrawal from the Obama-era international nuclear deal with Iran a move that outraged U.S. allies in Europe but was celebrated by Iran’s major rivals in the region, most notably Saudi Arabia.
The incoming Biden administration, which has praised the Abraham Accords but also sharply criticized Mr. Trump’s Iran policies, is now carefully weighing its options on how to proceed.
“I think we’re going to have a Biden administration that’s eager to rejoin the [Iran nuclear deal], but also sensitive to the fact that the Middle East is now speaking with one voice on the dangers of Iran, and of the fact that there is a big possibility to build on the success of the Abraham Accords,” said Jonathan Schanzer, a Middle East scholar with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Manhunt Intensifies as Authorities Warn Some Rioters May Face Sedition Charges
Evidence emerged that top officials, including at the F.B.I., had warnings about violence before the riot at the Capitol.
National Guard troops stationed outside the Capitol on Tuesday. Security has been ramped up since last week’s riot.Credit.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
Jan. 12, 2021
WASHINGTON Federal law enforcement officials vowed on Tuesday to accelerate a nationwide manhunt for hundreds of people who committed serious crimes during last week’s assault on the Capitol, even as new evidence surfaced that the F.B.I., police and White House were warned of potential violence that day.