Neocon Sources Claim that Trump Nominees are Not Confirmable

According to a report by the Washington Free Beacon, the Trump administration’s ambassador nominees to Afghanistan and Germany will apparently not receive confirmation.

Three congressional aides contend that the nominees will be rejected because of their supposedly “isolationist” and “anti-Israel” views.

The nominees in question are retired U.S. Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor (Ambassador to Germany) and U.S. Navy reserve officer William Ruger (Ambassador to Afghanistan).

Fox News host Tucker Carlson is connected to both of the nominees. Macgregor frequently appeared on Carlson’s show making the case that Iran “wants to attack” the United States and that neoconservatives have taken advantage of American foreign policy interests in order to benefit Israel.

The White House submitted Ruger’s nomination to the Senate on September 10, 2020.

Ruger will likely not receive a vote before the presidential election and is viewed as a strong proponent of non-interventionism who would labor to reduce the American military presence in Afghanistan and the rest of the region.

Arta Moeini, the research director at the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy, described Ruger as a “genuine anti-interventionist” who has a strong vision of a “less militarized” American foreign policy. Moeini believes Ruger and Macgregor are good examples of Trump’s pro-restraint tendencies.

Macgregor’s nomination was submitted to the Senate at the end of July and was received with considerable pushback from establishment Republicans in the U.S. Senate. They cited Macgregor’s allegations about Jewish Americans influencing American foreign policy and his dovish views on Iran.

“The administration has sent the Senate three foreign policy nominees with no chance of clearing the Senate, which has to be some form of Guinness World Record for incompetent congressional relations,” declared one senior GOP congressional official, referencing opposition to Ruger, Macgregor, and Anthony Tata, who was recently nominated for the Pentagon’s number two spot.

The fact that neocons are throwing a fit is a good sign. Such reactions show that the political establishment legitimately fear these nominees and that their policy stances pose a major threat to the military-industrial complex.

The neocons’ opposition to both nominees should make any liberty conservative in favor of foreign policy restraint giddy. Trump needs better personnel if he wants to accomplish his America First goals.