Republicans just blocked Pete Hegseth’s Army chief pick, saying he simply isn’t qualified
Pete Hegseth wanted to install his handpicked general as the top officer in the United States Army. His own party just told him no.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Hegseth cannot even formally nominate Gen. Christopher LaNeve for Army chief of staff because he does not have the votes to clear the Senate Armed Services Committee, a committee Republicans control 14 to 13. To move forward, LaNeve needs every Republican on board. He does not have them.
The problem is his resume. LaNeve has been a four-star general for just six months. Most generals hold that rank for roughly three times as long before they are trusted to lead an entire branch of the military. Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, a combat veteran herself, is among those objecting to how thin his experience is.
How LaNeve landed here says everything about how this administration makes decisions. The Journal reports his selection was driven in large part by Trump’s obsession with optics. During an Inaugural Ball last January, LaNeve appeared on a video call from South Korea and greeted the president warmly. Trump was so taken with the moment that he turned and asked, “Is this man central casting, or what?”
That is the standard now. Not decades of command experience. Not readiness. A good camera presence and a flattering hello.
There is also the reason the last Army chief was pushed out. Hegseth fired Gen. Randy George in April after George reportedly refused to strip two Black officers and two female officers from a list of service members set to be promoted. The message to the military was unmistakable, and it had nothing to do with merit.
Now even Senate Republicans are refusing to sign off on the replacement. When a party that has bent to almost every demand from this White House draws a line at who leads the Army, that line matters.