so who the hell will the next Defense Secretary be?

[mnmoderatedem]

Not seen this discussed in the media, only the ramifications of Mattis, and now McGurk, and the repudiation of trump, even on Faux and Friends.

But who the fuck would want to be next in line? After the Mattis resignation and strong rebuke. After all the obvious turmoil. I mean anyone who spent their career in the military, Defense Secretary is their dream job. Under trump, it's a nightmare.


So who would WILLINGLY go into that hornet's next?

And people thought the chief of staff position was difficult to fill...

[mercuryblues]

1. I hear Jared is available

[politicaljunkie41910]

10. I was thinking the same thing as soon as I saw the question. Doesn't Jared do everything?

When you're corrupt, you want to keep everything internal so that the rest of the country doesn't find out just how corrupt you truly are.

[dawg day]

14. He will promote one if Mar a lago VA buddies

You know, the three guys he has the VA secretary report to. They could be the Defense Triumvirate.

[Ohiogal]

2. Knowing how this regime operates,

It will be someone with little to no experience in the field who will just be a trump arse-kisser.

[beachbum bob]

3. One of the blond gals on Foxnews most likely

[Sherman A1]

9. That would be my guess

As well.

[duforsure]

4. Anyone he can find to

Serve him before anything else without question. That could mean any idiot dumb enough to support him he can find to help him hurt us with when he doesn't get something he wants. He has to have someone corrupt enough to do anything cruel without question.

[Autumn]

5. I said the other day it would be Jared.

[ck4829]

6. It'll be the guy who can deny "it" the best

[marble falls]

7. Tucker Carlson.

[tanyev]

8. Bristol Palin's been threatening to quit Teen Mom OG, so she's available....

[Stinky The Clown]

11. Lindsey Graham

[MrsCoffee]

12. I bet Hillary would do it.

She ain’t afraid of Trump.



I miss the grownups.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

13. Trump doesn't need one

Remember he knows more than the generals.

[rickford66]

15. A current or former FOX talking head.

[dawg day]

16. Watch, he'll just appoint someone acting secretary.

That way he doesn't have to get them approved by the Senate. When their 7 months is done, he will just appoint another acting secretary. He just flouts all the rules and gets away with it.

[karynnj]

17. There really is not "next in line" and the person is usually not a current millitary officer

though it is consider a plus to have millitary experience. Obama had 4 Secretaries of Defense - all different from each other:

Ash Carter was someone who came up in the Department of Defense after teaching at Harvard, where he was also co-director of the Preventative Defense Project of Harvard and Stanford.

Chuck Hagel was a long term Republican Senator and before that, a successful businessman, who fought as a young man in Vietnam

Leon Panetta was an aide to a Republican Congressman and then became the director of the Civil Rights office Congressman under Nixon (where he opposed Nixon and enforced civil rights laws), he then worked as a lawyer, became a Democratic representative and - in the better known part of his public service was in the Clinton administration rising to become Clinton's chief of staff, then in 2009 he became the CIA director before being Secretary of Defense. He served in the Army from 1964 through 1966.

Robert Gates, was a hold over from the Bush administration. Before becoming Secretary of Defense he spent 26 years in the CIA becoming its director, he then became President of Texas A&M. While in Texas, he was a member of the Iraq Study group that was led by James Baker and Lee Hamilton.

For the Obama secretaries, one thing they all seem to have in common is strong intellectual capabilities and demonstrated willingness to seriously study alternatives. Until I used wikipedia to create that list, the only one whose history I knew to this level of detail was Chuck Hagel. I was surprised to see the common element of having led organizations related to intelligence.

Where Obama, secure in his own intelligence, welcomed strong analytic people who could provide their best advise for what should be done. This is obviously NOT where Trump is. Looking back, I think we were too quick to laugh when Trump in the primaries said when asked who his advisers would be said that he would ask himself ... because he had a very good brain. The sad thing for the country is that he was not joking. This is why any idea that strong advisers could keep him on a rather narrow sane path by acting as gaurd rails was mistaken. This is why Trump has been more of a wrecking ball than most republican never Trumper or Democrat thought.

Because he only listens to advisers when they agree with him, the question is whether things would be different depending on who he picks. He may have confirmation problems on this because the Republican party is more inline with Mattis than with Trump.

[mcar]

18. One of those Fox & Friends hosts

[MiniMe]

19. Ollie North?

Wouldn't surprise me at all. It would be a terrible pick, but that is tRump's way of doing business.

[Bucky]

20. Call me crazy, but I think Robert De Niro is the natural choice here