# Why is Trump stacking the Defense Policy Board? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 29, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147 "2020-12-29T03:14:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Latimera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/latimera/32/497_2.png) [@Latimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latimera)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/1 "2020-12-29T03:14:58Z")
According to CNN, Trump has added more [supporters to the Defense Policy Board](https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/14/politics/pentagon-defense-policy-board/index.html). Ever since the election he has been removing the existing members and replacing them with loyalists. Why? Is he up to something, or is this some sort of reward for the members he has appointed? From what I have read [in this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-likely-is-it-that-trump-will-try-to-proclaim-martial-law/928294), it doesn’t really sound like declaring martial law is a real concern. Part of me worries that he is up to something nefarious, but I just might be feeling a bit paranoid. He isn’t really all that bright. But with so few weeks left, it all seems so odd. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/2 "2020-12-29T04:57:15Z")
Because he can. He wants to shake things up and force Biden to check under every rug and behind every door to find all of his picks. These are Trump loyalists and will do his bidding should they ever be asked, but time is running out to send massive troops anywhere they aren’t already. In fact, Trump is actively recalling troops from a variety of countries at the moment. “It makes him feel important” is as good a reason as any I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Latimera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/latimera/32/497_2.png) [@Latimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latimera)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/3 "2020-12-29T05:21:40Z")
Hmmm. That makes sense actually, given his behaviour and atitude. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/4 "2020-12-29T05:43:04Z")
In any other Administration I might be worried, but Trump doesn’t do “carefully and methodically move my people into influential, behind-the-scenes positions to support my gambit.” He doesn’t have the patience, understanding of how government works or baseline competence to execute any such scheme. ---
**Author:** ![Latimera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/latimera/32/497_2.png) [@Latimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latimera)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/5 "2020-12-29T05:50:31Z")
Pretty much my take on it too. But given that it is Dept. of Defense and he keeps adding loyalists, I started to wonder what I was missing… ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/6 "2020-12-29T06:45:45Z")
How important is the Defense Policy Board, anyway? I had never heard of it, so I googled, and it doesn’t look to me like a very scary place, even if it is full of Trump loyalists. It looks to me like a committee of advisors, much like any think tank in the private sector. (Am I not understanding something?) Yes, it’s an official government group, so the committee members have direct access to the Secretary of Defense. But they don’t seem to have any real authority…If Trump were planning something dramatic, I don’t think that appointing somebody to this committee would affect his decisions. And since they got their jobs easily–just by a simple appointment-, it seems like Biden could replace them just as easily. My guess: Maybe Trump thinks he’ll benefit financially. Give somebody a nice job, and then expect donations to his campaign fund for 2024. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/7 "2020-12-29T07:13:26Z")
He’s doing the only thing he’s actually good at; doling out favors to people who shower praise on him. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/8 "2020-12-29T12:49:32Z")
You are exactly right on the facts, and I think you’re broadly right on the speculations. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/9 "2020-12-29T13:55:58Z")
I don’t care if it’s just a think tank. If this group gets any information that Russia would find useful, then any person that Donnie put on that board needs to be fired Jan 20 at 12:01 pm. Assets of Russian assets cannot be in the Pentagon in any capacity. ---
**Author:** ![Latimera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/latimera/32/497_2.png) [@Latimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latimera)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2020, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/10 "2020-12-29T23:19:15Z")
I assumed it was a given that they would all be promptly replaced by Biden. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/11 "2020-12-30T01:05:31Z")
I was wondering if they were the ones behind the holdup of intelligence to Biden. It would be just like Trump to be a petulant child and keep the intelligence from Biden. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/12 "2020-12-30T01:13:21Z")
The DPB has _nothing_ to do with intelligence briefings. It’s just a think tank that provides policy planning advice to the DoD. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/13 "2020-12-30T01:21:31Z")
You say that but does Trump know it? 🤪 Ok, thanks for the info. It is a bit of a puzzlement, then. But then who really thinks that Trump is rational? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/14 "2020-12-30T16:05:36Z")
Maybe he thinks it has something to do with procurement. He certainly recognizes that the best way to have an insanely large income is to have all DoD procurement pay a “facilitation fee” to yourself via one scummy corrupt vehicle or another. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/15 "2020-12-30T16:47:11Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > He’s doing the only thing he’s actually good at; doling out favors to people who shower praise on him. Yeah, I think this is an easy two-fer for Trump. He makes yet another mess that Biden will have to waste time cleaning up, and meanwhile, all the people he appoints get to add “Sat on the Defense Policy Board” to their resumes for the rest of their lives. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/16 "2020-12-30T17:20:24Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Because he can. I think this is it. Trump likes to make snap decisions that will be carried out without any effort on his part. Trump can apparently hire and fire members of the Defense Policy Board without having to ask Congress to ratify his decisions. So he does it to feel important. ---
**Author:** ![Latimera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/latimera/32/497_2.png) [@Latimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latimera)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2020, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-trump-stacking-the-defense-policy-board/929147/17 "2020-12-30T17:53:25Z")
Yeah…this all makes sense. I should know better than to try and rationalize his decisions…