As long as I can remember, probably going back to President John F. Kennedy, I have taken an interest in who gets named to a president’s cabinet, with a special interest in who gets named to the secretary posts of state and defense.
Maybe it’s bias because of spending 35 years in the U.S. Navy. I see these two cabinet posts as having the potential to most affect the security and survival of the United States in a hostile world. This is not to downplay the important role of other cabinet secretaries — e.g., Homeland Security — and other key federal government appointments that require Senate confirmation. However, in today’s United States they all, despite their various roles of responsibility, have one common denominator: absolute loyalty to President Donald J. Trump, preferably to be displayed with an occasional sycophantic show of adulation. The Donald had that from many of his selectees during his first time in the White House — but not so much from Rex Tillerson at state and James Mattis at defense.
A BBC report noted that in selecting Tillerson (after one-face-to-face meeting) in February 2017, Trump referred to the former Exxon CEO as “one of the truly great business leaders of the world.” However, in doing his job, Tillerson took on the difficult task of telling the president there were some things he couldn’t do because they were illegal or violated treaties.
Trump doesn’t like being told what he cannot do. In 2018 the secretary and the president parted ways on less than amicable terms. Let’s call it at this point in history a pair of urban legends with a couple “allegedlys” thrown into the mix: The president called Tillerson “dumb as a rock”; he in turn had called the president a “(f*****g) moron.” The secretary did not confirm nor deny the (alleged) less-than-flattering depiction of his boss.
Like Tillerson, Mattis, a Marine Corps general (four stars) who served as head of U.S. Central Command, started off in the commander-in-chief’s good graces: Trump liked to refer to Mattis as “Mad Dog” (the general preferred his own call sign: “Chaos”) and called him a “true general’s general.”
The general served from Inauguration Day 2017 to Jan. 1, 2019. He resigned, diplomatically saying the president deserved someone whose view of the world was more akin to his. Trump claims he fired him, having called him “the world’s most overrated general.” Mattis offered no disparaging remarks about the commander-in-chief.
Following Mattis, Trump would go through several SECDEFs, most of them “acting”: e.g., Robert Salesses for six days, David Norquist for two. Pete Hegseth, SECDEF No. 29, took the post on Jan. 25 this year. He is arguably the most unqualified man to hold the job and came close to not making the cut: GOP senators Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins voted against Hegseth; Vice President J.D. Vance came in to break the tie.
I have a tough time believing that of the 41 GOP men in the U.S. Senate, only one — octogenarian McConnell — had the courage to oppose Hegseth’s nomination and de facto stand up to President Trump. I also have a tough time believing that not a single one of those other 40 GOP men did not in his heart of hearts know that Hegseth was a poor choice for the job.
SECDEF is a relatively new cabinet post, having come into being in 1947 with the birth of the Department of Defense. Its first occupant was James Forrestal, the last secretary of the Navy when that was a cabinet-level position.
He served as SECDEF from Sept. 17, 1947, until March 28, 1949, when he resigned under pressure. On May 22 that year, he fell to his death from the 16th floor of the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, where he was being treated for severe depression.
The third SECDEF, arguably the most prominent occupant of that office and one of America’s greatest military leaders, a respected statesman and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, was George Catlett Marshall. Prior to serving as SECDEF he served as secretary of state.
Other recognized SECDEFs include: Robert McNamara, who served for more than seven years under presidents Kennedy and Johnson; Caspar Weinberger, almost seven years during the Reagan administration; Donald Rumsfeld, almost six years for George W. Bush; and Robert Gates, more than four years under W. and Barack Obama. While these four men weren’t without their critics, they were not in over their heads in the job. Can the same be said of Pete Hegseth? I think not.
He’s proven to be a rookie diplomat at best in his dealings with our European allies. And his “Signalgate” episodes might get you to thinking he’s in over his head. Enough said for now.
I guess I have mixed emotions as to Marco Rubio, our 72nd secretary of state. He’s got a longer list of heavyweights to be compared to than Hegseth does and even bigger shoes to fill: Our first secretary was Thomas Jefferson, back in 1790; jump ahead to the 20th century, which brought us such men as George Marshall, Cordell Hull, Dean Acheson, Henry Kissinger and Charles Evans Hughes.
Trump’s choice to follow in the footsteps of such heavyweights (although I doubt Trump knows much about them) was the man he once derided as “Little Marco” and called a “very nasty guy.” In turn, Rubio saw Trump as a “con artist” with a “dangerous leadership style.” In those days they both sought the office Trump now holds.
The Senate, of which Rubio was a member, confirmed him unanimously: 99-0. And Trump recently chose Rubio to be his national security adviser. The last person to hold both posts was Henry Kissinger.
Indeed, politics makes for strange bedfellows. But are the president and the secretary now best buds? Maybe — as long as the one-way loyalty continues.
Have a nice day.