Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seemed in rare form as he delivered a speech at the Naval War College, according to one military expert.

Tom Nichols, a staff writer at The Atlantic and a former professor at the war college, argued in a new article that Hegseth seemed "unburdened" by facts and logic during his speech. While several points made Nichols wonder what Hegseth was talking about, the speech also offered a useful illustration of what the Trump administration is really after.

"What he delivered was more like an early Festivus 'Airing of Grievances,' in which the secretary of defense unburdened himself about academics, academic credentials, term papers, and education in America in general," Nichols wrote.

Nichols argued that "much of the speech amounted to Hegseth’s usual culture-war performance art." Even so, some revealing moments still mystified him and others in attendance.

"Specifically, he was very angry that the Naval War College refused to study 'failure.' This mystified me and some of the people who still teach there, because the college studies both historical failures (such as Napoleon in Russia) as well as modern American disasters, including Vietnam, the Iraq War, and the global War on Terror," Nichols wrote."They do this as Hegseth claims he wants them to do: dispassionately, much like pathologists talking about what killed a patient, what might have worked as alternatives, and lessons for the future."

"What, then, could Hegseth have been talking about? Trump’s political enemies," he added.

Hegseth took aim at some of Trump's favorite boogeymen during the speech, such as the Covid-19 mandates for the military and the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan. That made it clear that he was only interested in exacting "revenge on the previous administration," Nichols argued.

"Insofar as Hegseth said anything of substance, it was to insist that the faculty ditch what he sees as an artificial distinction between 'education' and 'training,'" Nichols wrote. "This is odd because the remit of the war colleges has long been the opposite: to wrench students out of the comfort zones of their previous jobs, acclimating them to uncertainty and ambiguity. Their time flying helicopters or driving ships is over. They’re in a classroom to learn how to become officers capable of advising civilians, able to see the links between national goals and military strategy and navigate the policy world."

"Understandably, a man whose Army career topped out at major does not like that idea. Very few majors do, until they’ve spent a year studying at a war college," he added.

President Donald Trump's new Chief of Staff is likely going to have a "damn hard time getting stuff done" after the midterms, as administration insiders are sharpening their knives, according to one political expert.

Last week, Trump promoted Stephen Miller, his former deputy chief of staff, as his new top aide on Capitol Hill. The move sent a political earthquake through the administration as Miller is seen as a hard-line ideologue who is responsible for crafting the immigration agenda that some voters rejected during the midterm elections.

David Rothkopf, a former international trade official in the Clinton administration, told Joanna Coles of The Daily Beast on a new episode of "The Daily Beast Podcast" that Miller is likely to meet fierce resistance throughout his tenure, as some insiders describe him as "the biggest a------" of the administration.

"Congress typically deals with the White House through the Chief of Staff, and Hakeem Jeffries, the incoming Speaker of the House, has already said, 'I'm not going to work with Stephen Miller,'" Rothkopf said. "There are Democrats and Republicans who don't like Stephen Miller. I think Stephen Miller is going to have a damn hard time getting stuff done."

Some political analysts have suggested that Trump elevated Miller to signal his intentions to fight Congressional investigations and subpoenas. But Rothkopf noted that Miller's schtick may be starting to wear thin, which may cause problems for the administration down the line.

"His whole thing is lashing out," Rothkopf said. "He said, 'We are the storm,' at the Charlie Kirk funeral, and I think he wants to be the storm. But I think he's going to turn to the people behind him and say, 'Are you with me?' and there's not going to be anybody there."

With Democrats poised to take over both chambers of the US Congress next year, a majority of progressive organizers are calling for the party to seek new leadership.

A survey of over 4,300 progressive activists released by Our Revolution on Monday shows that there is strong demand among organizers for replacing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who are seeking the majority leader and speaker roles.

In total, the survey finds that 72% of activists want a different leader than Schumer, compared to just 5% who say they support him and 22% who say they’re willing to see what he delivers.

Support for Jeffries was stronger than for Schumer, although 52% of respondents said they wanted a different leader, with 18% offering full support and 29% taking a wait-and-see approach.

Our Revolution has been calling for “open, competitive leadership elections” for the new Democratic Congress, and is urging prospective candidates to “publicly explain how they would use the new majority to challenge corporate influence, lower costs, and deliver for working people.”

Schumer and Jeffries have given no indication that they plan to step back from their ambitions to lead Democrats in Congress, and the two put out a joint statement on Monday outlining their priorities.

“The American people have forcefully rejected MAGA extremism and are demanding dramatic change in their lives,” Schumer and Jeffries said. “House and Senate Democrats have been given a clear mandate to aggressively address the affordability crisis, stop the reckless war of choice in Iran, meaningfully expand access to affordable healthcare, and hold the crooks accountable who have unleashed unprecedented corruption on the country.”

“A new day is coming on January 3rd,” they added. “Democrats are united and ready to lead.”

So far, no other Democrats have stepped forward to officially challenge either Schumer or Jeffries. According to a Monday report in Punchbowl News, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) is opening to challenging Schumer for Senate leadership after receiving “an outpouring of calls” urging him to do so.