No one wants to be defense secretary after what Trump did to the last one

For the second time in only two months, Trump is struggling to find someone — anyone — willing to take a high-profile position in his train wreck of an administration. Former Arizona Sen. Jon Kyl is the latest person to publicly reject Trump’s overtures to become the next secretary of defense, according to Politico.

Kyl’s rejection comes only months after Kyl was the administration’s point person to guide Brett Kavanaugh, an alleged attempted rapist, through his Supreme Court nomination battle. While Kyl enthusiastically embraced a man accused of drunkenly attacking and groping a young woman when in high school, he nonetheless rejected the idea of working for Trump.

This rejection comes on the heels of Ret. Gen. Jack Keane refusing the same position.

“The refusals are particularly striking given that the top Pentagon job is historically among the Cabinet’s most prestigious and powerful, and coveted by national security veterans,” notes Politico.

Mattis’ resignation letter may play a role in Trump’s difficulty finding a replacement. In the letter, Mattis made clear Trump is an incompetent bumbling disaster on the global stage who regularly alienates allies and praises adversaries.

In the aftermath of the resignation letter, an embarrassed Trump pretended he fired Mattis, a bald-faced lie that only worsened the humiliation.

The struggle to find a new secretary of defense comes after Trump struggle just last month to find a new chief of staff. In a similar situation, Trump’s top picks, like Vice President Pence’s chief of staff Nick Ayers, publicly snubbed Trump. In the end, Trump was reduced to begging the media to stop saying no one wanted to work for him.

Eventually, Trump selected former South Carolina congressman Mick Mulvaney to be chief of staff. Yet even that pick seems troubled, as Mulvaney is reportedly interested in becoming president of the University of South Carolina.

It is clear from the caliber of Trump’s Cabinet that he is not attracting the best people. His standards are so low that billionaire dilettante Betsy DeVos is secretary of Education. The turnover in his administration is unprecedented in the modern era, and shows no era of slowing down.

The only difference now is that even people like Kyl — who stoop low enough to put an alleged sexual predator on the highest court of the land — find working for Trump unpalatable.

After two years of lying and disastrous foreign policy, Trump sullied what was once one of the most respected positions on the planet.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.