Dems grill Pentagon nominee Tata over past inflammatory remarks, calling Obama 'terrorist leader'

Retired Brig Gen Anthony Tata President Trump s pick for a top Pentagon post came under fire at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday for past inflammatory remarks including calling former President Barack Obama a terrorist leader and suggesting ex-CIA Director John Brennan deserved execution Sen Jack Reed D-R I the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee called Tata s record of political statements disqualifying and reported his rhetoric was not appropriate for a position of this significance I respect and appreciate your military facility Reed mentioned but your record of citizens statements and behavior toward individuals with whom you disagree politically is disqualifying Tata under questioning from Sen Jeanne Shaheen D-N H disclosed he regretted the comments calling them out of character HEGSETH ORDERS HISTORIC REDUCTION OF GENERAL OFFICERS IN THE MILITARY I regret making those comments noted Tata I have years of solution-oriented leadership that was out of character I regret it I can guarantee that I will be an apolitical leader The retired Army general and former Trump administration official was nominated for a senior Pentagon role in but the Senate canceled his confirmation hearing at the last minute over similar concerns Trump later appointed him to a civilian advisory role without Senate confirmation Tata s post-military career includes stints as a school district official North Carolina s secretary of transportation and a military thriller author After calling Obama a terrorist in Tata later wrote on X that he was joking and meant to criticize Obama for the Iran deal I was joking Of discipline it s not a conspiracy theory He did more to harm US vital interests and help Islamic countries than any president in history The Iran deal alone is more than enough evidence of his drive to subvert US national interests to Islam and a globalist agenda Might be a time to pick your poison Tata had also replied on X to Brennan in a since-deleted post accusing him of treason Last month Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Darin Selnick his deputy chief of staff who had also been performing the duties of undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness Selnick was one of three top aides Hegseth fired after a leak research and fights between the aides and his former chief of staff HEGSETH ORDERS SWEEPING ARMY OVERHAUL AND CONSOLIDATION AIMED AT COUNTERING CHINA AND GOLDEN DOME CAPABILITIESSenators also pressed Tata on more contemporary social media posts including a tweet suggesting military officers were engaged in mutinous discussions and another calling for senior defense representatives appointed by President Joe Biden to be fired Sen Mark Kelly D-Ariz sought whether Tata valued loyalty to the Constitution or the administration s political agenda more We all raise our right hand to uphold the Constitution Tata responded though he defended Trump s vision of avoiding unnecessary wars and rebuilding the military He pledged to uphold his oath even if it means getting fired If substantiated as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness Tata would oversee military recruitment guidance healthcare and overall force readiness He would also play a key role in implementing efforts backed by Trump allies to reduce the number of general officers and eliminate diversity equity and inclusion DEI initiatives in the department Tata declared he would push to improve military recruiting by expanding access to high school programs to build a warrior ethos and streamline health waivers for disqualified candidates He also pledged to advise the chain of command on apolitical and objective hirings and denied supporting any kind of blatant purge Sen Gary Peters D-Mich expressed concern about political pressure on military leadership citing the latest ouster of Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen C Q Brown Tata insisted his approach would be objective In contrast the nomination of Katherine Sutton for a top Pentagon device role drew little opposition Sutton as of now chief machinery advisor at U S Cyber Command warned that China s cyber threats demand urgent expenditure in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence Sutton was pressed by Sen Elissa Slotkin D-Mich on whether she considered Signal and Telemessage were permissible for work purposes at the DoD after a slew of reports about the secretary's use of the encrypted messaging applications Depends on the level of classification reported Sutton adding there are a wide variety of apps in use at the DoD OK glad you got your talking point answer out stated Slotkin It s concerning to me that going into this job you can t give a straight balls and strike answer