Tata For Now

When Anthony Tata’s nomination to serve as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy was effectively blocked last week when his confirmation hearing was cancelled, I said it was a good outcome. Tata would have been an embarrassment to the country in that role, and the Armed Services Committee was right to prevent that from going any further. It follows that I think that Trump and Esper’s subsequent decision to make Tata the “official performing the duties of the deputy undersecretary of defense for policy” is a ridiculous attempt to get around the Senate’s role in confirming senior appointed positions. The president has shown a preference for acting officials that haven’t been confirmed, because he likes the lack of accountability and the pressure he can bring to bear on them to do what he wants, but this is unusually obnoxious even for him. Tata couldn’t even get through committee in a Republican-controlled Senate, and that should tell us something about how toxic and unqualified he is for the position that he was nominated for. The fact that he will be allowed to serve at the Pentagon in any capacity is a disgrace. That he will be effectively serving as the deputy to the position he was rejected for is an outrage. Esper has once again earned the mocking nickname of “Yesper” with his acquiescence to this absurd end-run around the Senate. We may be stuck with Tata for now, but it won’t be long before we will be saying goodbye to him and the lackeys that put him there.