The combination of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth banning Pentagon officials from speaking with lawmakers without approval, combined with the uptick in unprovoked attacks on boats reportedly containing supposed narco-traffickers, is creating a growing rift between the Donald Trump official and the very senators who confirmed him, according to a reporter.
During an MSNBC report where GOP lawmakers expressed concern about the Trump administration attacking and killing foreign nationals they claimed are drug traffickers without providing Congress with background information, journalist John Heilemann claimed the controversial Hegseth is turning former allies into skeptics.
After a “Morning Joe” host shared a clip of Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) complaining about not being able to get questions answered and telling reporters, “We're a democratic society where, first off, he's got an organization. You've got to trust your chain of command. This is too large of an organization to have that kind of a tight clamp on it, particularly when we have members that want specific answers not going through protocol — so that's number one. But I think it generally this sort of closing, closing the discussion to the press, limiting how many people connect independently and their capacity, very senior capacities in the DOD just doesn't make sense to me,” host Joe Scarborough pointed out, “Those people fund Pete Hegseth, those people fund his salary, fund his staff’s salaries, funds the Pentagon, funds everything.”
Heilemann pointed out, “We're seeing a little bit of this now on this, on this question of Pete Hegseth.”
“You make the correct point,” he added. “Which is there is really is — I’m encouraged to see a little bit of talk, but it will really only get serious when there is some action. I do think that there are Republicans on the Hill who are particularly offended by Pete Hegseth doing some of these things. I think some of those Republicans who voted to confirm him regret their votes now.”