Conservatives watching Trump administration picks for policy positions are concerned the Defense Department has hired a former official linked to billionaire Charles Koch — despite President Trump declaring that no one linked to Mr. Koch’s Americans for Prosperity group is welcome in his administration.
The Pentagon announced Jan. 20 that John A. Byers had been sworn in as deputy assistant defense secretary for South and Southeast Asia. Mr. Byers was director of foreign policy for the Charles Koch Foundation (CKF) in Arlington, Virginia, between 2017 and 2023, in charge of making grants related to foreign policy.
Conservative China hands were especially concerned by Mr. Byers’ appointment after an article he co-wrote was published in September in the American Conservative magazine. The article argued that U.S.-China tensions are mainly the result of misperceptions and that Mr. Trump favors a policy of “realist restraint” rather than peace through strength.
China and the United States are rivals and not adversaries, he said, reflecting long-held views of Mr. Koch.
“We do not need to talk ourselves into a new cold war with China,” he wrote. “Peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial prosperity must be [our] watchwords.”
Mr. Trump stated on Truth Social Jan. 15 — less than a week before his inauguration — that his transition team had hired 1,000 people.
“In order to save time, money and effort, it would be helpful if you would not send, or recommend to us, people who worked with, or are endorsed by, Americans for No Prosperity (headed by Charles Koch),” and others who Mr. Trump said are “suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome, more commonly known as TDS.”
A Pentagon spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the appointment.
One China expert compared the appointment of a former Koch Foundation employee at the Pentagon to the attempted appointment in 2017 anti-Trump security expert Patrick Cronin to head the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies, a Pentagon think tank in Hawaii.
Mr. Cronin had signed a letter by a group of national security officials opposing Mr. Trump. The think tank withdrew the appointment after it was reported by Inside the Ring.
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.