Through another subsidiary, Pratt and Whitney, UTC makes the engines for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the most expensive weapons program in the history of the Pentagon. Earlier this year, Pratt and Whitney received a contract worth nearly $2 billion for the latest batch of engines, and the program is just ramping up.

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The question then is: Could Trump use the federal procurement process to influence companies to do what he wants?

Defense analysts and procurement officials say no—at least not legally. Steering contracts to a particular company, or unilaterally preventing a company from receiving a contract, is against the law.

“The short answer is no, and it would be highly illegal. Period.” Said Mackenzie Eaglen, a defense analyst at the American Enterprise Institute.

Others cited the monumental acquisitions bureaucracy and the dense Federal Acquisition Regulations—thousands upon thousands of pages—that would also get in the way. Even relatively small purchases have to wend their way through a stifling and byzantine system that starts with determining requirements, putting out requests for proposals from industry, and then a lengthy selection process that can take months, if not years.

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Losing bidders also are able to protest decisions they feel were awarded in error.

“He theoretically could push for some kind of rule or policy change that specifically disadvantages companies that move their plants,” said Stan Soloway, the former head of the Professional Services Council who now works as a consultant. “But he certainly couldn't guarantee … any action on a specific contract. He actually doesn't have the authority.”

Still, there’s a reason that contractors spend millions on lobbyists every year. In Washington, politics is the currency behind many business deals.

That’s why when Loren Thompson, a defense industry consultant, meets with clients, he often reminds them: “Your customer is not a military system it’s a political system. You need to understand the politics of this market.”

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While it would be difficult, or impossible, to influence particular procurements, Trump could have sway on other areas. As an example, Thompson said Pratt and Whitney once wanted to sell to the military an engine it developed for commercial airliners. The Pentagon's Inspector General, however, required all sorts of cumbersome requirements that commercial, off the shelf products don’t typically have to meet. Theoretically, Trump could pressure the Pentagon brass to waive them, he said.