‘Flooding the zone’: War veteran slams Trump nominee to head Navy – who never served

An Iraq War veteran on Wednesday tore into President-elect Donald Trump’s selections to lead key military departments, including his nominee for U.S. Secretary of the Navy who comes to the table with no military experience.

Trump’s head-spinning approach of filling government positions with eyebrow-raising, non-traditional choices is part of a grander strategy, according to Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

“He's flooding the zone and he's challenging the Democrats, he's challenging the media and he's challenging the public to see if they can even keep track,” Rieckhoff said on MSNBC. “And he knows the holidays are coming and people want to check out, they're tired of watching the news and he wants to press his advantage.”

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Rieckhoff’s analysis came during an appearance on “Deadline White House,” where he took issue with Trump’s selections to head Veterans Affairs, the Navy and his pick for Under Secretary of Defense, who he says comes with a potential conflict of interest with defense contractors. But, he warned, once those nominees are in place, "other things will be easier after that."

Trump nominated John Phelan to be the next Secretary of the Navy. Phelan is a businessman and financier who currently leads a private investment firm. He has no military experience or prior connection to the Navy.

“The fealty is really I think what we're getting in all these candidates,” Rieckhoff said. “And they're kind of a one-two punch to tackle two of the biggest institutions and two of the biggest employers in America so if you send two of these guys at the Department of Defense and the VA you're talking about a massive piece of the federal government in terms of budget in terms of personnel and in terms of culture.”

Rieckhoff added that the weeks before Inauguration Day will be key.

“Right now is when you need to stay most vigilant because right now arguably Democrats have the most power and can still have the most influence because the switch is going to flip big time on January 20,” he said.

Watch the clip below or at this link.