Former President Trump signaled Thursday that he has a list of potential nominees to serve as Defense secretary if he wins November’s election, hinting at the future of a Cabinet position likely to come under additional scrutiny due to some of Trump’s recent comments.
Trump phoned into conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt’s show, where Hewitt rattled off a list of potential nominees, including Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Hewitt, who said he has voted for Trump, noted his son works for Waltz.
“I have many good choices. I have four or five good choices. You named a couple of them. And they’re very good. A lot of really very good choices,” Trump said.
The former president has spoken on the campaign trail about firing military leaders associated with the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan.
Defense secretary proved to be one of Trump’s more volatile Cabinet posts during his first term in office. Jim Mattis resigned after Trump said he was withdrawing troops from Syria, and his replacement, Mark Esper, was fired days after the 2020 election and has since been critical of Trump.
A potential Trump Defense secretary is certain to face tough questions from Democrats in particular after the former president suggested in a recent interview that he could use the military to quell protests from his critics.
Trump, in an interview with on “Sunday Morning Futures” on Fox News earlier this month, referred to his opponents as the “enemy within” and said any unrest from his critics after the election “should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”
The former president has also faced criticism from former military leaders.
Former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley called Trump a “fascist to the core” and “the most dangerous person to this country” in a new Bob Woodward book.
John Kelly, Trump’s former White House chief of staff, made headlines this week by alleging the 45th president praised the loyalty of Adolf Hitler’s generals while in office and said, “I need the kind of generals that Hitler had.”
Esper, who served as Trump’s secretary of Defense for 16 months, has spoken out in recent weeks about how Trump might use the military for political purposes in a second term.