WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary is still up in the air, but it is certain he will try to reshape the Pentagon and pick a loyalist after his tumultuous first term. Five men held the position of head of the Pentagon, but then resigned, were fired or briefly served as a stopgap.
Although he has yet to announce a decision, the names of potential Pentagon chiefs range from the well-known — such as Rep. Mike Waltz of Florida — to a range of former administration loyalists, including retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who held national security posts during Trump’s first term.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had been targeted, but Trump said on social media on Saturday that Pompeo would not join the new administration.
Some decisions could linger for days as candidates jostle for attention and officials await final results of the House elections, weighing whether Republican lawmakers can be tapped or whether others are a safer bet to avoid new elections for an empty congressional seat.
“The choice is going to tell us a lot about how he will handle the Pentagon,” said Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a retired Marine colonel.
He said someone like Waltz — a former Army officer and Green Beret — with a deep military background might not experience as dramatic a change as others who could be seen as stronger Trump loyalists.
With a number of top jobs at the State Department, National Security Council and Defense Department up for grabs, Trump is expected to target those who support his desire to end U.S. involvement in any war, and will use the military to control the US-Mexico border. and taking a tough stance against Iran.
The main test, however, will be loyalty and a willingness to do what Trump wants while trying to avoid the pushback he got from the Pentagon the first time.
Trump’s relationship with his civilian and military leaders during those years was fraught with tension, confusion and frustration, as they struggled to temper or even interpret presidential tweets and statements that blindsided them with abrupt policy decisions they were unwilling to make. to explain or defend.
Time and time again, senior Pentagon officials — both in and out of uniform — tried to discourage, delay or derail Trump, on issues ranging from his early demand to ban transgender troops from serving in the military and his announcements that he troops withdrew from the army. Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan are supporting his effort to deploy troops to secure the border and curb civil unrest on the streets of Washington.
During his first administration, Trump targeted what he saw as strong military personnel and defense industry executives. Initially, Trump was in love with generals, but over time he discovered that they were not loyal enough.
“He got mad at them,” Cancian said. ‘They weren’t as flexible as he thought. … I’ve heard people speculate that the chairman might be fired. So that’s something to look at.”
Air Force Gen. CQ Brown took over as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in October 2023 for a four-year term, but military leaders serve at the pleasure of the president. Brown, a fighter pilot and only the second Black officer to serve as chairman, spoke out after the police killing of George Floyd, describing the prejudice he faced in his life and career.
It is also expected that Trump will choose as secretary of defense someone who disdains equality and diversity programs and who is less likely to oppose his plans based on the limitations set forth in the Constitution and the rule of law. But he could also push for higher defense spending, at least initially, including on U.S. missile defense.
A key concern is that Trump will choose someone who will not resist potentially illegal or dangerous orders, or protect the military’s long-standing apolitical status.
On Thursday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin raised the red flag. In a message to the force, he said the U.S. military is prepared to “obey all lawful orders of its civilian chain of command,” adding that troops swear an oath to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
He echoed retired Army Gen. Mark Milley’s statement during a speech as he concluded four years as chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
“We do not swear an oath to a king or a queen, or to a tyrant or a dictator. And we are not swearing in a wannabe dictator,” Milley said. “We do not swear an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that America is, and we are willing to die to protect it.”
Trump’s first defense chief, retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis, quickly learned to stay off his boss’ radar by largely eliminating news conferences that Trump could see.
Mattis and Milley, along with Trump’s Chief of Staff John Kelly, a retired Navy general, and retired Marine General Joseph Dunford, who was also chairman of the Joint Chiefs, all worked quietly behind the scenes to temper some of Trump’s decisions .
They blocked his demands for a rapid and complete withdrawal of troops from Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan and succeeded in preventing the use of active-duty troops to quell civil unrest in Washington.
Two years later, Mattis abruptly resigned in December 2018 out of frustration with Trump’s national security policies, including a perceived disregard for allies and his demands to withdraw all troops from Syria. Patrick Shanahan, the deputy defense secretary, took over as acting head of the Pentagon but withdrew as a candidate six months later due to personal family issues that became public.
Then-Army Secretary Mark Esper took over the acting role, but he had to step aside briefly when he was nominated, so Navy Secretary Richard Spencer served as acting chief until Esper was confirmed.
Esper was fired days after Trump lost the 2020 election, largely because the president didn’t believe he was loyal enough. Trump was particularly angered by Esper’s public opposition to invoking the two-century-old Insurrection Act to deploy active-duty troops in the District of Columbia during the unrest following the police killing of George Floyd.
Trump appointed Christopher Miller, a retired Army officer who was director of the National Counterterrorism Center, as acting secretary and surrounded him with staunch loyalists.
That’s the Pentagon officials quietly say they expect in Trump’s new administration.
