[Repeal The 17th]

“Even defense contractors were named in the Constitution!”
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Citation, please.

[muawiyah]

Real easy: "To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy; "

Isn't that amazing ~ "grant letters of marque and reprisal" ~

Just look up "privateer" ~ by necessary implication for a "Letter of Marquis" to have use there must also be a "privateer" to provide the service.

We simply call them "defense contractors" these days, but they're still bound by contracts, and if we were in a war, e.g. with Japan for instance, on Wake Island, and the island were overrun the employees of the defense contractor might be granted POW status ~ which, alas, with the Japanese wasn't all that good a thing.

And, oh, yeah, Maintaining a Navy has always involved the use of civilian ship builders and companies of people skilled in outfitting shops, building weapons, and so on.