White House to take choice of Pentagon chief of staff out of Hegseth's hands
Source: The Guardian
Fri 9 May 2025 14.58 EDT
Exasperated by the turmoil that has dogged Pete Hegseth’s office in recent weeks, the White House will block the US defense secretary’s choice of chief of staff and select a candidate of its own, according to two people familiar with the matter. Hegseth had suggested giving the chief of staff position to Marine Col Ricky Buria after the first person in the role, Joe Kasper, left last month in the wake of a contentious leak investigation that brought the ouster of three other senior aides.
But the White House has made clear to Hegseth that Buria will not be elevated to become his most senior aide at the Pentagon, the people said, casting Buria as a liability on account of his limited experience as a junior military assistant and his recurring role in internal office drama. “Ricky will not be getting the chief position,” one of the people directly familiar with deliberations said. “He doesn’t have adequate experience, lacks the political chops and is widely disliked by almost everyone in the White House who has been exposed to him.”
The White House has always selected political appointees at agencies through the presidential personnel office, but the move to block Hegseth’s choice at this juncture is unusual and reflects Donald Trump’s intent to keep Hegseth by trying to insulate him from any more missteps.
The intervention comes at a time when Hegseth’s ability to run the Pentagon has come under scrutiny. It also runs into the belief inside Trump’s orbit that even the president might struggle to justify Hegseth’s survival if the secretary does not have a scandal-free next few months.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/09/white-house-pentagon-hegseth-chief-of-staff

Ocelot II
(125,908 posts)gab13by13
(28,827 posts)I am so relieved that Krasnov is making the appointment instead of Whiskey Pete.
Ursus Rex
(401 posts)But yeah, same thing.
Jim__
(14,797 posts)slightlv
(6,094 posts)in trump's cabinet... of *course* they're unqualified. Being able to read a script rolling on a teleprompter or off a piece of paper held in your hands comes SO close to planning and directing the huge numbers of our military across all the forces, ya know. /snark
odins folly
(422 posts)That they used the term Intervention......
The intervention comes at a time when Hegseth’s ability to run the Pentagon has come under scrutiny.
Demovictory9
(36,705 posts)So Trump administration has standards?
underpants
(191,410 posts)Last edited Sat May 10, 2025, 10:05 AM - Edit history (1)
Jeebus THAT crowd doesn’t like him?
Demovictory9
(36,705 posts)So Trump administration has standards?
Paladin
(31,013 posts)The brain-dead amateurism and ineptitude of trump's staff picks have probably been a net gain for what's left of this country, at least so far...
ToxMarz
(2,491 posts)Notably everyone EXCEPT Hegseth. To be fair, he's probably and AWESOME drinking buddy (if you enjoy being an asshole when your drunk, or even when you're not).
BoRaGard
(6,248 posts)and so now their surprised that his top appointees are as whacked and incompetent as he is ?
Stupid.
Stupid and dangerous.
Javaman
(64,244 posts)johnnyplankton
(551 posts)RainCaster
(12,988 posts)IMO, that why he brings her to all his events. She can remember what was said when he blacks out. Plus, she can't testify against him, being his spouse.
johnnyplankton
(551 posts)Most people don't understand blackouts. God knows I do/did
jmowreader
(52,527 posts)Is Trump taking the right to choose a deputy away from Hegseth (yes, I like the "Kegbreath" nickname but won't use it here) because Pete Hegseth can't be trusted to pick anyone good, or because Pete Hegseth won't pick someone worthless enough to serve in this administration? It would be...SO bad...if Hegseth actually chose someone who could do the job for the position as it would violate the standard Trump Administration recruitment practice of moving the barrel and digging down 200 feet.
C_U_L8R
(47,661 posts)why should anyone else?
Prairie Gates
(5,650 posts)He's like a Junior SECDEF!
Attaboy, li'l SECDEF. We'll handle the details. You go be a Big Boy in the building with all the corners!
Buddyzbuddy
(1,161 posts)Right for the Whitehouse but still wrong for us.
Godot51
(538 posts)... as occurred in his prequel term trumpy alone, along with his faithful advisors, will make all the choices.
orangecrush
(25,587 posts)
LudwigPastorius
(12,920 posts)Riiiiiight...

Eugene
(65,697 posts)Ricky Buria, the New York Post reported Friday, has called some of Vance’s views “wackamamie crazy” and “isolationist.” Buria, who worked under former defense secretary Lloyd Austin, also said it was “dumb” for the president to use the military for his immigration crackdown.
As a result, some referred to the Biden administration holdover as “Rasputin Ricky.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/white-house-blocking-hegseth-rasputin-194728467.html
Lonestarblue
(12,802 posts)Skittles
(165,955 posts)so NOW they're worried about "inexperienced people who are widely disliked"????
thesquanderer
(12,680 posts)I doubt Trump personally made this decision, he probably has no idea who Buria is.
travelingthrulife
(2,862 posts)Trump will make a better choice, no doubt.
BeyondGeography
(40,544 posts)Didn’t take long.