Analyses of who won and who lost in this year’s midterm elections are well underway.

For its part, the arms industry had one big win, among others: the likely ascension of Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) to the chair of the House Armed Services Committee. Rogers is a hawks’ hawk and longtime advocate of 3 to 5% annual growth in Pentagon spending, adjusted for inflation. Spending at this rate would push the Pentagon budget to $1 trillion or more before the end of this decade, an unprecedented figure that would be by far the highest level reached by the department since World War II.

The 3 to 5% figure, touted not only by Rogers but by other Pentagon budget boosters like outgoing ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), is not based on a careful consideration of America’s defense needs. It is rooted in an offhand comment by former Trump administration defense secretary and General Dynamics board member James Mattis, amplified by a 2018 report by the Congressionally mandated National Defense Strategy Commission.

Before going deeper into Rogers’ record, it is worth reflecting briefly on Mattis’s career path given his advocacy of a huge influx of funding for the military-industrial complex. Mattis came into the Trump administration from a board position at General Dynamics, a top 5 arms contractor, and returned there after leaving government.

Read the full piece in Forbes.