President Donald Trump's advisers have given up on finding a permanent chief of staff for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which keeps controversial senior adviser Ricky Buria in that role despite concerns about his qualifications.
Hegseth's first Chief of Staff Joe Kasper left during a major upheaval in the top ranks of the Pentagon earlier this year and Buria, who is "widely disliked" among colleagues, quickly emerged as the embattled defense secretary's most trusted adviser as he fought off criticism over his use of a non-secure app to discuss military plans, reported The Guardian.
"Buria is not expected to formally receive the White House’s approval to become the permanent chief of staff to Hegseth," the publication reported. "But the attempt by the Trump advisers to block Buria from getting the job has fizzled in recent months as the news cycle moved away from the controversies that dogged Hegseth at the start of Trump’s term and officials lost interest in managing personnel at the Pentagon, [according to people familiar with the matter]."
A spokesperson for the Pentagon referred reporters to the White House for comment, and a White House spokesperson praised Hegseth for “restoring readiness and lethality to our military and putting our warfighters first after four years of ineptitude and abject failure by the Biden administration."
"At least part of the reason for Buria’s ascendancy at the Defense Department in recent months is because of a power vacuum in Hegseth’s front office and his role in bringing about the departures of some of his biggest detractors and rivals, according to current and former Pentagon officials" who spoke to The Guardian.
A group of Pengaton officials from every service branch except the Coast Guard is reportedly preparing to go public with a whistleblower letter notifying the public that Hegseth "has no clue what he's doing," saying the defense secretary had hurt morale and created "an atmosphere of paranoia" by politicizing managerial decisions.
"It is uncertain if the extent to which senior White House and administration officials are now interacting with Buria is more because he is the only Hegseth aide empowered by the secretary to serve as his top staffer, rather than a vote of confidence by Trump’s advisers," The Guardian reported.
