Donald Trump is set to resume his role as commander in chief, promising to keep U.S. troops out of wars abroad.
Trump has criticized "woke TV generals" during the campaign, potentially leading to a transition that could spell the end of some generals, particularly officials responsible for the deadly Afghanistan withdrawal under President Joe Biden that left 13 U.S. servicemembers dead.
Suggestions that he could deploy the military to handle illegal migration is being criticized by Kathleen McInnis, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.
"Soldiers are required to not follow illegal orders, but the line between legal and illegal in some of these instances can be murky," she said.
Trump told Time magazine earlier this year that his plan for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants would involve the National Guard, "but if I thought things were getting out of control, I would have no problem using the military."
More recently, he said "the bigger problem is the enemy from within," saying "sick people, radical left lunatics" should be "handled" by the National Guard or military if needed.
He has also reportedly floated the idea of using U.S. special operations personnel to kill drug kingpins in Mexico, while insisting he would avoid major entanglements abroad for the world's most powerful military.
He will take office faced with major crises in the Middle East and Europe – which he has vowed to quickly resolve.
Trump was ultimately victorious – a win that will likely spell major changes for the U.S. relationship with NATO as well as its backing for Ukraine.
"I expect that we may see things like 'quiet quitting' NATO; ending the war in Ukraine by forcing Ukrainian capitulation; and a deep focus on China and Taiwan," McInnis said of Trump's likely national security policy.
Information from Agence France Presse was used to compile this report.