President-elect Donald Trump to shakeup Pentagon as Republicans consolidate position in U.S House of Representatives - Greater Kashmir

Srinagar, Nov 14: Republicans have secured a majority in the US House of Representatives, strengthening their grip on the lower chamber and delivering a governing trifecta in Washington that would empower Donald Trump to implement his legislative policy.

The Associated Press determined on Wednesday evening that Republicans had won at least 218 seats in the 435-member House after a victory in Arizona, a call that came more than a week after polls closed across the US and as Trump made cabinet announcements that sent shockwaves through Washington.

Among those announcements was the decision to nominate Matt Gaetz for attorney general.

Gaetz’s experience level and his young age, critics say is a new in the U.S. governing system.

Past attorney generals have been “very senior legal officials”, while Gaetz has a law degree “which is not saying that much,” Dr Richard Johnson, senior lecturer in US politics and policy at Queen Mary University of London, told the BBC.

Meanwhile, reports say that Trump’s transition team are drawing up a list of military officers to be fired, potentially to include the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

This would be an unprecedented shakeup at the Pentagon.

The planning for the firings is at an early stage after Trump’s Nov. 5 election victory and could change as Trump’s administration takes shape, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.