Ok, I admit.. this “winning” is almost way too much fun.  A few hours ago, key defense contractors and their government agency counterparts assembled for the first time with President-elect Donald Trump.
It cannot be overstated how fundamentally different this is for all parties involved. For the first time in their history, both sides are facing a President-elect without a single IOU on his desk from their large networked lobbying groups.  For them, both sides, the concept of prudent financial interest is at the forefront of the discussion.
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For the first time in modern history the proverbial governmental trough has a gatekeeper…. His name is Donald J Trump.  Just pause for a moment and think about the scope of their collective new reality.
Better still, imagine yourself as a white hat inside the acquisition program and assigned to deliver the best “bidding process”,  and now you actually have Donald Trump on your side of the negotiation table.
OK, now smile, read and watch:
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(Graphic Link)

(Via Reuters) […]  The Republican met with Dennis Muilenburg of Boeing Co and Marillyn Hewson of Lockheed Martin Corp at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is spending Christmas.
“Trying to get the costs down, costs. Primarily the (Lockheed Martin) F-35, we’re trying to get the cost down. It’s a program that’s very, very expensive,” Trump told reporters after meeting with the CEOs and a dozen Pentagon officials involved with defense acquisition programs who he said were “good negotiators.”
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has vowed to address government procurement costs as part of his industrial policy, which also includes taking a hard line on Chinese trade practices and renegotiating multilateral trade deals.
“It’s a dance, you know, it’s a little bit of a dance,” he said. “But we’re going to get the costs down and we’re going to get it done beautifully.”  (read more)

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One of the meeting participants was Boeing’s CEO Dennis Muilenburg, who took a shot across the financial bow from Trump earlier this month on the $4.2 billion cost for replacing a pair of Air Force One planes.
Muilenburg, called the meeting “productive” and spoke admiringly of Trump’s “business head-set.”  “I think we’re looking to cut a tremendous amount of money off the price,” Trump said, while Muilenburg said he gave Trump a “personal commitment” that costs would not run out of control.
“We’re going to get it done for less than that, and we’re committed to working together to make sure that happens,” the CEO said.  Watch:


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