Pete's Bad Day

The world may rightly perceive Pete Hegseth as a pompous empty suit, but he sees himself as a warrior: a wartime Secretary of War leading the military in a war. And if he could cram another two or three references to war in the prvious sentence, you know he would.

But if America is at war with Iran (which we are) the War Powers Act requires the Administration to get Congressional authorization to continue hostilities beyond 60 days. But asking for permission is not Trump’s way (he is, after all, an adjudicated sexual predator). This means Trump can’t call bombing and blockading Iran a war effort. He used to call it an excursion. At the White House today he called it a skirmish.

Does this mean instead of renaming the Department of Defense the Department of War, Trump should rename it the Department of Skirmishes? Pete’s Bad Day weighs in with a resounding yes. After all, think how enjoyable it would be to see Hegseth’s frail ego wither in shame. But why settle for mere shaming? Let’s go for humiliation. Being booted from the cabinet before Patel gets fired from the FBI isn’t sufficient, but it is a good start.

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