Before cashing out in the private sector, Esper had a long career in military dating back to 1986 when he graduated from West Point. By the time he had decided to leave his career as active duty military, Esper had achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel and for 2 years served as a deputy assistant secretary of defense under the Bush Administration. Esper then began getting involved in politics when he was appointed national policy director for Fred Thompson’s 2008 presidential campaign and later became the director of National Security Affairs for Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.). Esper developed a strong relationship with Congress when he served as the policy director for the House Armed Services Committee; he is, by any account, the poster boy for the “revolving door.
The Trump administration’s policies have been very advantageous to Raytheon, as was reported earlier this week when the CEO of Raytheon Tom Kennedy told investors that Trump “has opened several doors.” Raytheon announced on Thursdaythat they had well surpassed their second-quarter earnings estimates. Raytheon also stands to benefit greatly from the $350 billion contract that Trump signed with Saudi Arabia, which includes over $100 billion for arms trade alone, and is generating record dividends for defense contractors. Raytheon stocks have now jumped to an all-time high of $170.74, and reports revenues of $6.28 billion this quarter. Raytheon’s huge jump began in early April of 2017 when the Trump administration made the decision to launch 59 tomahawk missiles, manufactured by Raytheon, against a Syrian airbase. Immediately after the strike, Raytheon stocks began to rise rapidly alongside other military contractors including Lockheed Martin.
In a bizarre speech aired yesterday, Trump, aside from openly advocating for police brutality, in a glorification of rich people and their ability to govern, said “I want people that made a lot of money now to make a lot of money for our country,” when discussing his administration’s controversial appointments. Trump’s administration is, of course, the richest in history, and reflects a demeanor that is oriented towards the bottom line. That is, the culture reflected in the Trump administration’s policies is one of profit over anything else— the culmination of a long debunked idea that corporate profits translate to general prosperity. His administration has been more than willing to oblige the demands of corporate America all across the board. Military contractors are in a unique position to benefit from entanglements in government, ultimately generating private revenue, because their business operates entirely off of America’s bloated military budget and perpetual warfare. It is not only the firms themselves that benefit, but also other large corporations, largely financial firms, that own large shares in the defense industry.