“The Senate also has yet to confirm a slew of the president’s top political appointees at the Defense Department, including officials who manage acquisition, personnel and readiness, and research and engineering. The tight deadline means that career officials are likely being asked to develop a plan that political appointees will need to implement once they’re confirmed, said John Conger, who oversaw environmental policy at the Defense Department during the Obama administration.

“’There’s a degree of urgency coming from the White House: “Get this stuff done,”’ Conger said. ‘There’s a practical reality coming from the agency, saying: “It takes longer than you think it does.” In the end, it will come out somewhere in the middle…’”

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