Anthony Tata, the president’s nominee to be the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, apologized for inflammatory remarks he made in the past and promised to be “apolitical” if he’s confirmed to his position.
Tata, a retired Army Brigadier General, faced scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee during his confirmation hearing on Tuesday morning for those previous remarks, which halted his appointment to be the undersecretary of defense for policy during President Donald Trump‘s first term.
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He previously called former President Barack Obama a “terrorist leader,” accused the Obamas of engaging in “borderline treasonous” behavior for expressing their disappointment with a Trump presidency, and said that former the president “is a Muslim” seeking to “support a regime (Mullahs) that sponsors anti West hatred and violence using money US unfroze or gave,” in a reference to Iran.
Democrats on the committee repeatedly asked about those remarks and expressed their concerns that he may further those feelings in the role.
Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) argued that his nomination “is widely perceived as being driven by political loyalty rather than professional qualifications.”
“Those were out-of-character comments. I regret making those comments,” he said, adding, “I regret it, and I can guarantee you that I will be, if confirmed, an apolitical leader.”
One of Tata’s tweets that came up repeatedly was from last November when he said military leaders should be “aligned with POTUS vision to achieve Trump agenda,” and in response to questions, he said the tweet was in response to a CNN article that reported Pentagon officials were discussing how to respond if Trump were to give “controversial” orders.
“The Trump agenda 47 is one, peace through strength, strengthening, rebuilding our military, focusing on not engaging in needless wars,” he said. “And that tweet was in direct response to a CNN article that discussed credible sources of generals and admirals having conversations about how to resist lawful orders from the commander in chief, who was appointed under Article 2 of the Constitution as the commander in chief. And so I found it quite unacceptable that admirals and generals, as reported by CNN, are having conversations about how to resist our president.”
“Just for the avoidance of doubt, I want to make it clear that my commentary is precisely focused on loyalty to the Constitution and the oath that we take, and admirals and generals in the Pentagon should not, as was indicated in this article, be having conversations about how to resist the commander in chief providing lawful order and controversial orders may be lawful,” Tata added.
After withdrawing his nomination in August 2020, he was placed in an acting position that did not require Senate confirmation.
Despite the Democrats’ objections to Tata’s previous remarks, they are largely powerless in stopping his nomination without Republican assistance due to the GOP’s majority in the upper chamber.
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Katherine Sutton, Trump’s nominee to be the assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy, appeared alongside Tata during the hearing, though her presence was largely secondary to his due to his controversial remarks.
Last month, President Trump fired the head of U.S. Cyber Command, Gen. Timothy Haugh, and he has been replaced by Lt. Gen. William Hartman in an acting capacity. The president has not yet nominated a replacement.