I’ve been closely following the debate over Pete Hegseth’s nomination to become the next Secretary of Defense. It’s unusual to see so much public interest in who might lead the Pentagon. Most Americans don’t spend much time thinking about who runs the military and couldn’t name a single member of the chain of command. So, why the heightened concern now?
The Secretary of Defense runs the largest agency in the world, the only one capable of exerting the kind of domineering power that only the U.S. military can. Indeed, the stakes for a role as consequential as defense secretary are particularly high, and any perceived character flaws or gaps in experience can carry significant weight. We should want the head of the military to be wise and above reproach. But in the current debate over who will replace Lloyd Austin in January, people seem to be…
