"On Nov. 14 ..." Spencer recalls, "I sent him a note asking him not to get involved in these questions." By Spencer's own version of events, this is now the third time the secretary of the Navy had rebuffed the commander-in-chief.
Suspecting they had a deep stater in their midst, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone then called Spencer twice to inform the Navy secretary that the president, as commander-in-chief, would continue to be involved in whatever the hell he wanted to and advised Spencer that the president would be ordering the Navy secretary to restore Gallagher to the rank of chief.
"This was a shocking and unprecedented intervention in a low-level review," writes an angry Spencer. "It was also a reminder that the president has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by a uniform set of rules and practices."
In addition to the chain of command, add civilian control over the military to the list of things the former Navy secretary doesn't understand. The founding fathers put a civilian in charge of the military to prevent power-hungry Navy secretaries like Richard Spencer from becoming tyrants who mistakenly believe they answer to no one. Our founding fathers wanted to make sure our number one military leader was held directly accountable to the American people every four years.
In Spencer's worldview, he doesn't answer to the duly elected president. The deep state answers to nobody. "Given my desire to resolve a festering issue," a hard-headed Spencer continues, "I tried to find a way that would prevent the president from further involvement while trying all avenues to get Gallagher’s file in front of a peer-review board."
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/brons...es-part-of-the-deep-state-pens-op-ed-n2557226
Suspecting they had a deep stater in their midst, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone then called Spencer twice to inform the Navy secretary that the president, as commander-in-chief, would continue to be involved in whatever the hell he wanted to and advised Spencer that the president would be ordering the Navy secretary to restore Gallagher to the rank of chief.
"This was a shocking and unprecedented intervention in a low-level review," writes an angry Spencer. "It was also a reminder that the president has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by a uniform set of rules and practices."
In addition to the chain of command, add civilian control over the military to the list of things the former Navy secretary doesn't understand. The founding fathers put a civilian in charge of the military to prevent power-hungry Navy secretaries like Richard Spencer from becoming tyrants who mistakenly believe they answer to no one. Our founding fathers wanted to make sure our number one military leader was held directly accountable to the American people every four years.
In Spencer's worldview, he doesn't answer to the duly elected president. The deep state answers to nobody. "Given my desire to resolve a festering issue," a hard-headed Spencer continues, "I tried to find a way that would prevent the president from further involvement while trying all avenues to get Gallagher’s file in front of a peer-review board."
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/brons...es-part-of-the-deep-state-pens-op-ed-n2557226