MILITARY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Army Gen. Mark Milley headed to the White House in November to be interviewed for the top military job in Europe. He emerged from the meeting with an even loftier prize: President Donald Trump asked Milley whether he wanted to be the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Milley’s steeper-than-expected promotion came despite the fact that then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was grooming the Air Force’s chief of staff, Gen. Dave Goldfein, for the Joint Chiefs post. But Milley had champions in the president’s inner circle, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Trump campaign alumnus David Urban, who thought Milley’s personality would jell with Trump’s, according to four sources with knowledge of the meeting. Milley faces his next crucial job interview Thursday, when the Senate Armed Services Committee holds his confirmation hearing. But the November episode demonstrated many of the traits that Milley would bring to the job: sky-high ambition, an ability to take over the room and a willingness to use his Trumpworld connections to get what he wants.”
–David Brown, Daniel Lippman and Wesley Morgan, “Trump’s newest ‘central casting’ general,” Politico, July 10, 2019 5:06 am