The Pentagon is reportedly unnerved by Trump's lame-duck 'purge' of civilian leadership

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

In the 24 hours after President Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday, three other top civilian leaders at the Pentagon quit or were ousted, replaced by Trump loyalists with controversial pasts. The "apparent purge" ushered in "hardcore MAGA-ites" at the top level of the Defense Department, Spencer Ackerman reports at The Daily Beast, and "it is currently unknown what mandate the new loyalists have at the Pentagon with over two months remaining in the Trump administration."

The lame-duck change in leadership has "put officials inside the Pentagon on edge and fueled a growing sense of alarm among military and civilian officials, who are concerned about what could come next," USA Today reports. "This is scary, it's very unsettling," one defense official told CNN. "These are dictator moves." Another senior defense official added "it appears we are done with the beheadings for now," at least at the Pentagon.

The Pentagon's No. 3 official, acting Undersecretary for Policy James Anderson, was replaced by his acting deputy, retired Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, a controversial Fox News regular who withdrew his nomination for Anderson's spot because the GOP-led Senate Armed Services Committee wouldn't confirm him. Anderson himself was holding the No. 3 job because Trump fired the Senate-confirmed Pentagon policy chief, John Rood, in February.

Esper's chief of staff, Jen Stewart, was replaced by Kash Patel, a former senior aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) who played a leading role in crafting a dubious FBI "unmasking" memo and made a cameo in Trump's impeachment. Patel has a "very close" working relationship with new acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller, an administration official told CNN.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pentagon-reportedly-unnerved-trumps-lame-105723062.html

Sounds like a lot of yes men. Those that will tell Trump what he wants to hear and kiss his huge ass but won't tell him what he needs to hear.

[Eliot Rosewater]

1. GOP supports the annihilation of our country, that is what it boils down to.

[Laelth]

2. These developments are disturbing. n/t

-Laelth

[Phoenix61]

3. Malcom Nance's comments on this were

very reassuring. He says no one in that building is going to talk to anyone Twitler put in there. He also said nothing ever gets done in 70 days at the Pentagon.

[tanyev]

5. Ha! "nothing ever gets done in 70 days at the Pentagon".

Especially if everyone who can’t stand Commander Bone Spurs is slow-walking in any way they can. That does make me feel b,etter.

[Baked Potato]

4. Trump is doing to the military what he has done to the country for 4 years.

Creating conflict, causing people to worry, making people look over their shoulders. Divide and cause turmoil, that’s his whole life MO. He gets pleasure from watching the reactions to his blunders. He is not comfortable with peace and togetherness.

A smooth running operation is foreign to his whole outlook on life. He simply doesn’t trust that anything or anyone can operate smoothly and in sync because he trusts nobody. So, he must not allow anybody around him to exist without distrust. He must have distrust. He must have conflict. He found out military personnel rejected him in large numbers, so he is getting revenge by trying to upset the good order that the military normally thrives on.