Republicans Blame ‘Yes Man’ Pentagon Pete for Trump Fiasco
The Pentagon’s top brass is under fire from Armed Services Republicans.
Eric Lee/Reuters
Republicans in Congress are not happy with Pete Hegseth’s handling of President Donald Trump’s war on Iran.
A GOP member of the House Armed Services Committee told the Daily Mail that the self-styled “Secretary of War” won’t be upfront about how the war is going because he is terrified of being fired.
“Hegseth is afraid of Trump and won’t be as honest as he should about the war for fear of losing his job,” they told the outlet in a report on Thursday.
They lamented that Trump is “surrounded by a bunch of fearful yes men who can’t tell POTUS the truth,” and that Gen. Dan Caine is not considered to be a part of the president’s “inner circle.”
Hegseth apparently fears being purged the same way he's purged numerous military personnel at his "War Department."
Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS
“I see very few ways to wrap up Iran other than to withdraw and somehow market that as a win,” they added.
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Another Republican senator who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee also claimed to the outlet that Caine had not adequately connected Trump with Admiral Brad Cooper, who leads U.S. Central Command in operations against Iran.
A GOP senator said Caine needs to connect Trump with Adm. Cooper at CENTCOM.
Ken Cedeno/Reuters
“General Caine is making a mistake by not encouraging the president and Admiral Cooper to sit down and hear his view of how this operation could be successful,” they told the Mail.
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The senator alleged that Caine has been “abundantly cautious” about any backlash to a sustained military operation in the region, which they said was “not a formula for getting out of conflict successfully.”
President Trump and Hegseth at the dignified transfer of a service member killed in the war in the Middle East.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
“I think you should let the commander on the ground give his view to the commander-in-chief,” they added.
Reached for comment, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told the Daily Beast in a statement: “Secretary Hegseth gives honest, comprehensive advice to President Trump on a regular basis, including counsel from CENTCOM Commander Admiral Cooper. The President is surrounded by the most qualified experts on the planet, and the American people overwhelmingly chose President Trump as their Commander-in-Chief to make critical decisions on their behalf.”
The White House did not immediately return the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
As the president’s war on Iran rages on past the five-month mark, the economic toll is becoming harder and harder to ignore, with soaring prices on gas and groceries putting a strain on ordinary American households. A government report released Thursday said the economy had slowed more than expected in the second quarter, with GDP rising at a 1.5 percent annual rate, lower than the 1.8 percent economists had forecast.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the conflict is a lost cause, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Research poll published on Thursday.
Over a third of Republicans—37 percent—also agreed that the sustained war in the Middle East was not worthwhile, as more U.S. service members are in harm’s way without an end in sight.
Eighteen military personnel have died since the war started on Feb. 28, and hundreds more have been wounded, despite the Pentagon’s attempt to fiddle with the numbers.
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