Hegseth's Latest Battle: Infighting Inside the Pentagon

Source: msn/WSJ

11h


Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s string of missteps has spurred infighting inside the Pentagon and raised concerns among some Republicans on Capitol Hill about his ability to run the department. The problems are rooted in Hegseth’s lack of managerial experience in overseeing an entity anywhere near as large as the Pentagon, which employs around 3.4 million people on a budget now approaching $1 trillion, according to current and former officials.

White House officials were frustrated by Hegseth’s refusal to part with his acting chief of staff despite their misgivings about the aide’s qualifications, according to current and former administration officials. Some blame poor Pentagon staffwork for leaving Trump in the dark about a pause in some weapons deliveries for Ukraine, some of these people said. Hegseth has feuded with top generals and fired three senior aides that were well-liked at the White House.

On Thursday, Senate Republicans led by Mitch McConnell attempted to rescue the Pentagon from what they considered an insufficient budget request that they blame, in part, on Hegseth. Some Republican lawmakers are concerned that Hegseth’s loss of top aides has left him especially ill-equipped to run the Defense Department.

“If you just look at the broader turnover and the lack of consistency there in terms of executive management, I think it’s a red flag,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican who cast the decisive 50th vote to confirm Hegseth in January and recently announced he wouldn’t run for re-election.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/hegseth-s-latest-battle-infighting-inside-the-pentagon/ar-AA1JLUN7