The editors of the Washington Post have come out in opposition to Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, urging President-Elect Trump to pick someone else:
Fox News host Pete Hegseth’s planned nomination to become defense secretary reflects a failure of vetting by President-elect Donald Trump. Mr. Hegseth lacks the temperament, judgment, character and experience to lead the world’s most complex and lethal military organization. Fortunately, Mr. Trump has several better options to manage the Defense Department and its 3 million employees who would sail through the Senate and serve as good stewards of the Pentagon.
Here are their alternative recommendations:
Mr. Trump has other options, even if imperfect, who are largely aligned with his desire to modernize and transform the military. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa would fly through. She’s a combat veteran who has spoken of her own experiences with sexual assault and understands the need to project American power overseas. Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida is slated to become national security adviser, but he would be a solid choice for defense secretary. Other names in the mix include Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas, though the GOP cannot spare the departure of any more House members, as the party will hold only a narrow majority in the chamber next year. Another option being discussed is Elbridge Colby, a former Pentagon official and close ally of Vice President-elect JD Vance.
One name Mr. Trump has reportedly been floating to associates is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who served as a Navy lawyer before running for Congress. Mr. DeSantis has the requisite experience and relishes the cultural battles that Mr. Trump apparently wants Mr. Hegseth to fight. He has also shown a willingness to assert his independence at times, which is why we’d be surprised if Mr. Trump gave him such an important role. But, for all our disagreements with him on policy, Mr. DeSantis would be far better than Mr. Hegseth and probably could be confirmed — barring disqualifying new information from the confirmation process.
I have literally no opinion about any of Mr. Trump’s appointments. I don’t think they’re particularly important. Trump clearly does not adhere to Ike’s staff management approach to the presidency. I believe he wants to call all of the shots himself, something I think is actually impossible for a job as gargantuan as the presidency, and is frustrated that he can’t make his approach work.
I have no idea whether Mr. Hegseth is good, bad, or indifferent. I also have no idea how I would go about determining that. No third party reports can be relied on. Equally I have no idea what people think the qualifications of cabinet officers are. AFAICT the only qualification is that they need to be native-born citizens to meet presidential succession requirements.