A half dozen Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee will oppose Anthony Tata, President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next Pentagon policy chief, amid scrutiny over past tweets calling former President Barack Obama a “terrorist leader.”
The shot across the bow, led by ranking Democrat Jack Reed of Rhode Island, just days after Tata was officially nominated spells trouble for his nomination for undersecretary for policy.
“Senator Reed’s preference is to wait for the hearing process before commenting on nominees,” Chip Unruh, Reed’s press secretary, told POLITICO in a statement. “But in this case there are real warning signs flashing and if this nomination moves forward, Senator Reed will oppose it.”
Tata, a retired Army brigadier general, novelist and Fox News regular, was formally nominated for the senior post last week.
The rebuke from Reed is a rare early rejection of a nominee on a committee that typically functions through bipartisan consensus. Six of the 13 Armed Services Democrats now publicly oppose Tata.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a frequent critic of Trump appointees, quickly joined Reed in denouncing Tata on Monday.
“An Islamophobic conspiracy theorist who called President Obama a ‘terrorist leader’ should not be #3 at the Pentagon,” Warren said in a statement. “Anthony Tata is by far Trump’s most unqualified & ill-suited senior defense nominee — a high bar. Senate Armed Services Committee Republicans shouldn’t even give him a hearing.”
Four more Armed Services Democrats came out against Tata’s nomination on Monday afternoon — Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Gary Peters of Michigan.
“Not only would Mr. Tata be the least-qualified individual ever confirmed for this position, but his long history of making Islamophobic remarks and of pushing dangerous and debunked conspiracy theories on Fox News make him completely unacceptable,” Gillibrand said. “Mr. Tata would further enable President Trump’s destabilizing tendencies and would represent a dangerous erosion of independence and accountability at the Pentagon.”
“Anthony Tata’s nomination is a disgrace,” Blumenthal added. “His bigoted, Islamophobic conspiracy-theory-ridden record makes him unequivocally unfit to serve in this role. His nomination should be immediately withdrawn.”
The confirmation process was likely to be controversial for Tata, who is known for his fierce defense of Trump on Fox.
CNN reported on Friday that Tata has a history of making Islamophobic remarks and derogatory comments toward Democrats, including calling Obama “a terrorist leader” and referring to Islam as “the most oppressive violent religion I know of,” in since-deleted tweets from 2018.
And Tata retired from the Army in 2008 after an investigation determined he had affairs with “at least two” women, according to a report from the North Carolina-based News & Observer. Tata was the North Carolina transportation secretary from 2013 to 2015.
No Senate Republicans have come out against Tata yet.
In a statement, Armed Services Chair Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) didn’t commit to supporting or opposing Tata but pledged to thoroughly weigh the nomination.
“With all that’s going on around the world — especially as China and Russia act out — the National Defense Strategy is as important as ever,” Inhofe said. “That’s why it’s so important to have well-qualified individuals leading the Pentagon. I look forward to reviewing this nomination closely.”
If confirmed, Tata would replace John Rood, who was seen as insufficiently loyal to Trump and was ousted from the Pentagon in February.
James Anderson has filled in as acting Pentagon policy chief.
The Senate, meanwhile, is running short on time to confirm several nominees with just months left in Trump’s presidential term.
Ten nominees for open posts are waiting on confirmation hearings in the Senate Armed Services Committee. In addition to Tata, the list includes Trump’s nominees to be the next Pentagon watchdog and the civilian overseeing U.S. special operations.