"There is one jet in the hangar but it is basically waiting for a few parts and to be painted... As far as major assembly goes, it's finished, it isn't sustaining any workers."
Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi accused Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and senior officials of interfering in investigations into political assassinations to protect connected individuals. Mchunu denied these claims, describing them as baseless insinuations.
Trump has left little to chance since returning to the White House. His defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, immediately purged a half-dozen top generals, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and in early May ordered a 20% reduction in the number of four-star generals and a 10% cut in lower-ranking generals.
"It's a dynamic environment. The discussion has moved away from a central DOGE conversation to an agency-by-agency efficiency discussion. We had to do a significant cut in our workforce to match where we see the demand in our civil business, which is obviously painful, because we have a great workforce."
"There's an assumption underlying that general argument of, 'Well, if only the United States was to pull out of the region, suddenly the world will be a better place' - I don't buy it," said Raphael Cohen, emphasizing the importance of U.S. bases for rapid response in a volatile region.
Washington is now using national security as pretext for a lot of things, but, actually, many of those things are not [a threat]," said Taro Kono, a Japanese lawmaker and former foreign minister. "Nippon Steel could have invested years ago, and it took so long. ... Politics intervened. And that is not a good sign.
Wang's event, held in November 2023, gathered AI industry leaders to discuss national security implications, highlighting his emerging influence in Washington.
Hirono questioned Hegseth's qualifications, referencing his past issues and asserting that his leadership has turned the DOD into a dysfunctional organization jeopardizing military operations.