Top Pentagon officials effectively hid proposed promotions of two top female generals in the attic to protect them from the unpredictable and capricious moves of Donald Trump as Commander in Chief. The two had worked their way up and onto the list of promotions the standard way with huge support of peers and superiors.
Four Star Commanders
President Biden, with Vice President Harris and the Secretary of Defense nominated Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost of the Air Force to be commander of the United States Transportation Command, and Lt. Gen. Laura Richardson of the Army to serve as the 2nd and 3rd female 4-star Combatant Commanders when confirmed. It was part of an International Women’s Day ceremony in which the president pledged to “end the scourge of sexual assault in the military.”
They had to play hide the ball because the President of the United States, the Commander in Chief was so unstable.
Claire McCaskill
On MSNBC, Former Senator Claire McCaskill said both would be “amazing commanders” and that it was “unbelievable that these women had to wait.”
“…women who were deserving of 4 stars, women who had put up with things that many men could not even begin to handle….they had to play hide the ball because the President of the United States, the Commander in Chief was so unstable…They were protective of these women’s careers because they knew they had a commander in chief that was a jerk.”
Nicole Wallace picks up the thread and comments that the Pentagon holds the most secrets about what really happened in the Trump years and McCaskill reminds us of the time the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs “put on a combat uniform to walk the President over for a photo op.”
“That’s the moment when I know we were in trouble. That’s the moment I knew things had gone wobbly. I can’t imagine the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs doing anything like that under any other Commander in Chief.”
