"Trump could have found anyone to back his policy. That's the easy part. ... Is Hegseth REALLY the best person in all of America for this super important position?" No, he isn't. In addition, I would add that almost anybody can be SecDef when all they have to do is rearrange the deck chairs at the DoD when there is nothing important happening (which is never) or when sitting on a couch pontificating at Fox News. As was made ABUNDANTLY clear by Dubya and Trump, you need to have capable leadership that knows how to gather credible and trustworthy intelligence and advice about what to do in a crisis. Hegseth has stated that he will be "the warrior's SecDef." What does that mean? If somebody steps on your toe you may FIRE AT WILL!!"?? (step / toe is an analogy for some diplomatic or military incident anywhere in the world). It appears that Hegseth does not believe in diplomacy of any sort. Bullets and bombs will be his answer to everything.
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In 2017 (and 2018 and 2019), Trump proposed slashing the State Department budget by 37%. General Mattis said, and other high ranking military officials agreed with Mattis:
http://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/1678512/secretary-mattis-remarks-on-the-national-defense-strategy-in-conversation-with/
"At one point, I was frustrated enough with some aspects of State Department's budget that, in my testimony, I said if you don't fully fund up on Capitol Hill, my testimony, if you don't fully fund the State Department, please buy a little more ammunition for me because I'm going to need it, as a rather blunt way of saying *****why we needed to keep America's foreign policy and our diplomats, foremost, in this effort.***** ..."
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2017/02/27/retired-generals-cite-past-comments-from-mattis-while-opposing-trumps-proposed-foreign-aid-cuts/
Retired generals cite past comments from Mattis while opposing Trump's plan. [Feb 27, 2017]
"The more we put into the State Department's diplomacy, hopefully the less we have to put into a military budget ..."
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Hegseth has already said that he will order the military to shoot American protesters if Trump tells him to do so. What will Hegseth do elsewhere in the world?
Posted By: RespectfulRobert
Re: SecDef is SOOOO much more than policy.
Trump could have found anyone to back his policy. That's the easy part. But you saying "while he is lacking in large macro level management experience..." is a stunning admission and would have disqualified him immediately by any serious President elect or senate. Is Hegseth REALLY the best person in all of America for this super important position? Rhetorical question. Both you and I know he is not.
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If you think my take is partisan, I really don't have a big issue with any of the other Trump nominees (other than Kash Patel as he is a clown) I am not saying I would choose any of the others, for I disagree on policy with them, but the majority of them are serious people with good credentials and I have always said elections matter.
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I would just have hoped that the R senators would have pushed back on this nominee as he is a major risk at a position we need experience and competence as we have to face off against Russia, China, Iran and its proxies, N. Korea, etc.
The MAGAs are castigating LA Mayor Bass because of her handling of the LA Fires. They cite her inexperience managing budgets, etc. and they claim that if an EXPERIENCED businessman (Rick Carson) was elected, he would know exactly what to do and how to get it done. Would that be like Postmaster DeJoy? A businessman heavily invested in PRIVATELY owned delivery services, he proceeded to dismantle parts of the USPS (e.g., literally dismantling high speed sorting equipment!) and make crippling decisions that slowed USPS deliveries that some felt benefited the private delivery services. Several of his decisions were subsequently reversed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_DeJoy#Selection_and_conflict_of_interest_controversy )
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I don't want to wait for the first "FIRE" for Hegseth to have to deal with. SecDef should be an experienced leader with knowledge of the many facets of the entire department and its capabilities and how it works with other departments to fulfill its mission.
