Trump Under Pressure to Pick Pentagon Chief amid Tensions with Iran

Republicans are urging President Trump to quickly send them his pick to lead the Pentagon after acting Defense chief Patrick Shanahan yanked his name from consideration this week, according to The Hill.

“It’s bad. It’s bad… When you have the word ‘’acting’’ after your name, you’re not it. You’re perceived by other countries as being not the person in Charge,’’ said the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Senator James Inhofe.

Senator Lindsey Graham said that the U.S. does not need an acting secretary of Defense:

“We need a permanent secretary of Defense to help guide the department through budget negotiations and conflicts. I would encourage the president to find somebody quickly to send to the Senate.’’

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Friday:

“The Pentagon and its many evolving missions require capable and steady leadership. I hope the Senate will act expeditiously when we receive the nomination of this highly-qualified national security leader.’’

“The nominee would have to fill out paperwork before it could be done, then it goes to the FBI, when it comes to the nominating process, so it’s going to take a while,’’ said James Inhofe.

Lindsey Graham was asked if the allegations against Shanahan should have come up sooner in the FBI’s background check and he replied: “We need to do a better job. If they had the information they should share it.’’

The Democrats also commented on the situation saying that the situation with Shanahan is just further proof of the chaos occurring in the Trump administration.

“To have no secretary of Defense at this time is appalling. And it shows the chaos in this administration. They have so many empty positions rotating, revolving doors in the most sensitive of security position,’’ said Chuck Schumer.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*