The President's Daily Brief
January 29th, 2025: How Trump Is Shaking Up The US Military & A Russian Hit Job in Germany
Wed, 29 Jan 2025
In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: President Trump issues a wave of executive orders reshaping the U.S. military—banning transgender service members and dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. A senior NATO official confirms a Russian plot to assassinate the head of German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, part of a broader effort to weaken Europe’s defense industry. A developing crisis in Africa: A rebel alliance has seized the largest city in the mineral-rich eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, threatening regional stability. And in today’s Back of the Brief: The White House finally provides some answers about last year’s mysterious drone sightings across the northeast. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What executive orders is Trump issuing for the military?
It's Wednesday, 29 January. Welcome to the President's Daily Brief. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, we're looking at a series of new executive orders from President Trump that are shaking up the U.S. military, from banning transgender service members to dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
Later in the show, a senior NATO official confirms a Russian plot to assassinate the head of German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, part of a larger effort to target Europe's defense industry and intimidate EU nations.
Plus, a developing situation in Africa, where a rebel alliance has seized the largest city in the mineral-rich eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, threatening the stability of the region. And in today's back of the brief, do you remember the mystery drones over New Jersey? Seems like ages ago.
Well, we're now getting some answers from the White House on last year's drone sightings across the Northeast. And spoiler alert, they were not alien spaceships. Well, at least that's what we're being told. But first, today's PDB Spotlight. President Trump's executive order blitzkrieg shows no signs of letting up as the president seeks to shake up the U.S.
military and purge its ranks of, quote, woke ideology. On Monday, Trump issued a wave of executive orders reshaping Pentagon operations, namely banning transgender service members from the military and gutting diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
The actions build off of an executive order Trump signed on his first day back in office, revoking the Biden administration's 2021 directive allowing trans people to serve openly in the military. That's according to an exclusive report from the New York Post.
The new orders specifically prohibit, quote, gender radicalism in the military, barring any service member who identifies as a gender other than their birth sex from serving or enlisting on the grounds of mental unfitness.
Now, it's not clear how the administration will deal with the estimated 9,000 active duty and 6,000 reserve troops already enlisted who identify as transgender, though it directs the Pentagon to determine a policy for those individuals within 30 days.
Furthermore, the orders ban biological men and women from sharing bathrooms, bedrooms, and changing areas while in the service and prohibits the use of, quote, invented and identification-based pronoun usage, end quote. President Trump said Monday, to ensure we have the most lethal fighting force in the world, we will get transgender ideology the hell out of our military.
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Chapter 2: What is the Russian plot against Germany's Rheinmetall?
The roots of the current conflict can be traced back to the aftermath of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which destabilized the region and fueled competing interests over the DRC's vast mineral wealth. These tensions have drawn neighboring countries into a prolonged and bloody struggle. It's important to note that this is not the first time that the city of Goma has fallen.
Rebels initially captured the city in 2012, citing grievances over unfulfilled peace accords. Though driven out by Congolese forces and UN peacekeepers, the group re-emerged in 2022, capitalizing on weak governance and the lucrative coltan trade to finance its resurgence. The AFC control over the mineral is particularly alarming.
A UN report estimates that coltan mined in areas under their control accounts for approximately 15% of global tantalum production generating roughly $300,000 in revenue for the rebels each month. This economic lifeline not only funds rebel operations, but also provides leverage against the Congolese government, which has struggled to maintain control over its eastern provinces.
Adding to the complexity, see I told you there were a lot of moving parts here, the DRC has accused neighboring Rwanda of actively supporting these rebels with troops and logistical aid, a charge that Rwandan government denies despite mounting evidence from UN investigations. The humanitarian consequences of this conflict are, frankly, devastating.
According to the UN, over 400,000 people have been displaced just last year alone as hospitals in Goma struggle to cope with the influx of injured civilians, many of whom are children. CNN reports brutal scenes in the city, with streets littered with bodies, widespread looting, and accounts of sexual violence by rebel fighters.
Meanwhile, French intelligence confirms the rebels' seizure of Goma's airport on Tuesday, cutting off vital supply lines, of course compounding the crisis. In the DRC capital, the unrest in the eastern provinces has triggered widespread protests, with demonstrators targeting both Western and African embassies.
The chaos reached a boiling point with a prison break that saw more than 4,000 inmates flood the streets. The nationwide violence has taken a toll on peacekeeping forces, as South Africa confirmed the deaths of 13 soldiers from its contingent in the UN mission just over the past week.
Kenya's president has called for an emergency summit to address the crisis, but previous peace efforts, including truce agreements mediated by Angola, failed to produce meaningful results. For now, the situation remains dire.
With Goma under rebel control, ethnic conflicts rising, and a worsening humanitarian crisis, the DRC is teetering on the brink of deeper chaos as the escalating tensions with Rwanda threaten to ignite a broader regional war. Okay, coming up in the back of the brief. Remember those mysterious drones over New Jersey that grabbed headlines late last year?
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Chapter 3: How is the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo developing?
Levitt implied that this lack of transparency actually caused more problems, as curious hobbyists and private citizens began flying their own drones at night to investigate the phenomena, fueling increased sightings among frightened residents.
The panic reached a fever pitch in mid-December, prompting speculations by lawmakers that the drones belonged to a foreign adversary such as Iran or China, as well as online theories that they were actually UFOs with otherworldly origins. You travel all that way just to fly over New Jersey. The truth, as it turns out, is out there, but it's actually far less interesting than the speculation.
Levitt said, quote, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons. She then emphasized, quote, this was not the enemy, end quote. Well, it does make you wonder why the Biden White House wouldn't have just cleared that up right away.
Levitt said the information she was sharing came directly from President Trump, who briefed her on the situation earlier on Tuesday in the Oval Office. As you may recall, late last year, Trump criticized the Biden administration for their silence, saying that the government knew the origin of the drones, but, quote, for some reason, they want to keep people in suspense.
We should note that Leavitt did not elaborate on what kind of research these drones were conducting or who was operating them. So while the update from the White House is a welcome one, it's not likely, frankly, to put this issue entirely to rest. And that, my friends, is the President's Daily Brief for Wednesday, 29 January.
Now, as you may be aware, if you want to listen to the show ad-free, simply become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back later today with the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.
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