Trump Suddenly Gives Top Defense Policy Job To Bigoted Crank Tata
A former Fox News commentator loyal to Trump has been moved into the Pentagon's top policy job, only months after the Senate rejected his nomination due to numerous offensive and deranged comments he has made.
Defense officials said that Anthony Tata, a retired Army one-star general, will be "performing the duties" of undersecretary for defense policy. His temporary appointment followed the resignation of James Anderson, who had been acting undersecretary, after Donald Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday.
The appointment of Tata came one day after Christopher Miller's second day on the job as defense chief.
Although Trump appointed Tata to the policy post earlier this year, the Senate canceled a hearing on the nomination when it became clear that his confirmation would be impossible. Tata withdrew his name from consideration for the third-highest position in the department.
Trump then appointed hium to serve in the job of deputy undersecretary.
The Pentagon's policy office has been roiled since John Rood was forced to resign as undersecretary for policy in February after he warned against Trump withholding aid to Ukraine -- the scandal that provoked Trump's impeachment.
Tata will be "performing the duties of" the undersecretary job, a position with less authority than holding the "acting" title.
Tata reportedly posted tweets in 2018 calling Islam the "most oppressive violent religion I know of," and he called former President Barack Obama a "terrorist leader" and referred to the president as Muslim.