Politics
GOP Senators Confirm Hegseth, Shocked To Learn He Is In Charge Now
By Mor Michael, . BSN Network. Satire.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senior Republican senators expressed frustration this week after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a plan to cut 20 percent of the military's general and flag officer corps without consulting the committee members who spent weeks deciding he was qualified to do exactly this kind of thing.
The plan, announced by Hegseth last week, would eliminate roughly one in five of the Pentagon's top commanders. The senators say they were blindsided. The senators also hold the votes that made Pete Hegseth the Secretary of Defense.
Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said he was "concerned" about the announcement, which is the Senate Republican's way of saying he is furious in a way that will not require him to do anything about it.
Other senior members described the rollout as lacking in "coordination," a word that, in this context, means they would have appreciated a courtesy call before Hegseth restructured the command layer of the most powerful military on earth the way a new manager rearranges a break room.
Hegseth, for his part, has indicated he views the generals as bloated, overpromoted and insufficiently focused on warfighting, a critique he has been publicly making, in writing, in speeches, and on television, since approximately 2022. This was not hidden. It was the application.
Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who sits on the Armed Services Committee and voted to confirm Hegseth after what she described as a serious and rigorous process, told reporters she had "questions" about the general officer cuts, which is a notable development given that her entire job for the past several months was to have those questions before the vote.
"We want to make sure this is done thoughtfully," Ernst said, deploying the word that Washingtonians use when they mean the opposite.
Several senators noted that restructuring the general officer corps is traditionally a decision that involves Congress. It is worth noting that these same senators spent the confirmation period arguing that civilian control of the military meant the secretary should be able to run the Pentagon as he saw fit, a principle they appear to be revisiting now that he is running the Pentagon as he sees fit.
A spokesperson for the Defense Department said Secretary Hegseth remains committed to building a leaner, more lethal force, which is the same sentence he has been saying since before he could find the Pentagon on a map.
The senators have not indicated they plan to block any funding, hold any hearings, or do anything beyond expressing concern in a hallway. Hegseth has not indicated he plans to call them.
The United States currently has more admirals than ships. Nobody in this story has mentioned that.
The story we are making fun of: https://thehill.com/newsletters/defense-national-security/6130555-gop-senators-not-happy-with-hegseth/