Remember the member of Donald Trump’s Cabinet who was referred to the Justice Department for possible prosecution? No, not that one. No, not so and so either.
I’m talking about Robert Wilkie, the controversial Republican VA secretary who was referred to federal prosecutors after he allegedly tried to discredit a congressional aide who made sexual abuse allegations against a non-consensual in 2019 named man.
As the first Trump administration neared its end, several prominent veterans groups — including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America — called for his resignation, as did Democratic leaders in Congress.
Ultimately, Wilkie was not charged, despite the concerns of the Office of the Inspector General of Veterans Affairs, although common sense suggested that the controversy would affect his future career prospects.
It was against this backdrop that Trump approached Wilkie last week to oversee the Defense Department’s transition efforts for the newly elected president.
Is it any wonder that Pentagon officials are a little concerned about the near future? The Washington Post reported:
The Pentagon expects major unrest once President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, amid fears that the once and future commander-in-chief will renege on his promise to use the military domestically against American citizens, demand allegiance from key leaders and will try to reform power. the impartial institution into an institution explicitly loyal to him. The fear harkens back to Trump’s first term, when he broke norms and frequently clashed with senior Pentagon leaders — including some of his own political appointees.
There is every reason to believe that his second term will be significantly worse – especially after the Republican publicly spoke in the run-up to the election about the possible use of military force on US soil against the ‘enemy from within’. Trump also went so far as to promise to create a task force that would help keep military leaders out of the Pentagon if he deems them ideologically unacceptable.
The Post’s report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, quotes Richard Kohn, a professor and military historian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as saying that the greatest danger facing the military under a second presidency of Trump faces a “rapid erosion of his professionalism, which would undermine his status and respect from the American people.” Mr. Trump has no real understanding of civil-military relations, or the importance of an impartial, non-political military.”
CNN published a related report, which has also not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, adding that defense officials “have had informal discussions about how the Defense Department would respond if Donald Trump were to issue orders to remove active-duty troops domestically.” to deploy. lay off large swathes of apolitical staffers.”
Politico, meanwhile, noted that Pentagon officials are particularly “concerned” about the possibility that the new president will fire Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown, “due to the perception that he is out of step with the newly elected president regarding the diversity of the Pentagon. and inclusion programs.”
Time will tell how far Trump is willing to go in politicizing the department, but given his recent history, his pre-election rhetoric and his radical worldview, it’s hard to be optimistic.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
