Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) said Fox News' Pete Hegseth was chosen as Secretary of Defense simply because President-elect Trump wants “yes men” around him. He said no.
“He's not qualified to be secretary of defense,” Auchincloss said on NewsNation's “The Hill” on Thursday. ” he said.
Mr. Auchincloss argued that Mr. Trump recognized the importance of the loyalty of his inner circle after his first inauguration.
“In the first Trump administration, all the national security cabinet members stood up for the country and the Constitution over his arbitrary decisions. He fired them, but then they disowned him as commander in chief, and they all stood up for the country and the Constitution over his arbitrary decisions.・I supported Harris because I thought he was unfair as a leader,” the Democratic Party representative added.
“He doesn't want to make that mistake again. He wants yes-men around him, so I'm not really interested in Hegseth's character because he doesn't really control the levers of power there. Because I don’t mean to,” Auchincloss said. “This is obviously going to be run by the White House.”
Some have questioned Hegseth's selection, arguing that he is inexperienced and unprepared to lead an army in a global conflict. His appointment is similar to other cabinet nominees in which Trump has chosen loyal allies rather than those with traditional backgrounds for cabinet positions.
Auchincloss began the interview by mentioning President Trump's decision to put Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“RFK is a charlatan and a conspiracy theorist who has no place in health and human services,” he said.
“What he's obfuscating is the fact that he's substituting science for his own opinions and bogus theories, and that the biomedical enterprise in this country is concerned with both the safety and effectiveness of new drugs and foods. “And the fact that RFK is built on randomized, double-blind trials that guarantee that RFK threatens Americans' confidence in what they put into their bodies,” he later added.
President Trump praised Hegseth as a “brave and patriotic champion of our country's 'peace through strength' policy,” and said Kennedy would “end the chronic disease epidemic and make America great and healthy again.” He said he would contribute to the
Lawmakers are looking forward to President Trump's nominations for additional cabinet positions in his administration.
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