Auchincloss: Trump nominated Hegseth because 'he wants yes men around him'

Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) said Fox News's Pete Hegseth was only selected to serve as the Secretary of Defense because President-elect Trump wants “yes men” around him.

“He's unqualified to be the secretary of defense, what he's being installed to do is to say yes and to supplicate himself to the will of the White House,” Auchincloss said during a Thursday appearance on "The Hill" on NewsNation.

Auchincloss argued Trump realized the importance of loyalty in his inner circle after his first term in office.

“In Trump's first administration, his entire national security cabinet stood up for the country and for the Constitution over his diktats. He fired them, and they then disavowed him as commander in chief, and all endorsed Kamala Harris because they thought he was unfair to lead,” the Democratic representative added. 

“He does not want to make that mistake again. He wants yes men around him, so I'm actually not that interested in the character of Hegseth, because he's not going to actually have control over the levers of power there,” Auchincloss stated. “This is clearly going to be run by the White House.”

Others have questioned the choice of Hegseth, arguing that he is inexperienced and unprepared to lead the military during global conflict. His appointment echoes Trump’s other picks for cabinet positions where he has tapped loyal supporters over those with traditional resumes.

Auchincloss touched on Trump’s decision to put Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services earlier in the interview. 

“RFK is a quack and a conspiracist and has no place near the levers of health or human services,” he said. 

“What he obscures is the fact that he substitutes science in the place of his own opinions and his own quack theories and our biomedical enterprise in this country is built on randomized double blinds trials that ensure both the safety and efficacy of new medicines and of foods and RFK is a threat to the trust Americans can place on what they’re putting into their bodies,” he later added.

Trump touted Hegseth as a "courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy" and said Kennedy will help "end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!"

Lawmakers are eagerly awaiting Trump's additional cabinet picks for high-ranking positions to fill out his administration.

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