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Dems grill Pentagon nominee Tata over past inflammatory remarks, calling Obama ‘terrorist leader’
Retired Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata, President Trump’s pick for a top Pentagon post, came under fire at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday for past inflammatory remarks, including calling former President Barack Obama a «terrorist leader» and suggesting ex-CIA Director John Brennan deserved execution.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, called Tata’s record of political statements «disqualifying» and said his rhetoric was «not appropriate for a position of this significance.»
«I respect and appreciate your military service,» Reed said, «but your record of public statements and behavior toward individuals with whom you disagree politically is disqualifying.»
Tata, under questioning from Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said he regretted the comments, calling them «out of character.»
HEGSETH ORDERS ‘HISTORIC’ REDUCTION OF GENERAL OFFICERS IN THE MILITARY
Anthony Tata, President Donald Trump’s nominee for undersecretary for personnel and readiness at the Department of Defense, disavowed his past remarks. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«I regret making those comments,» said Tata. «I have 45 years of solution-oriented leadership, that was out of character. I regret it. I can guarantee that I will be an apolitical leader.»
The retired Army general and former Trump administration official was nominated for a senior Pentagon role in 2020, but the Senate canceled his confirmation hearing at the last minute over similar concerns. Trump later appointed him to a civilian advisory role without Senate confirmation.
Tata’s post-military career includes stints as a school district official, North Carolina’s secretary of transportation, and a military thriller author.
After calling Obama a terrorist in 2018, Tata later wrote on X that he was «joking» and meant to criticize Obama for the Iran deal.
«I was joking! Of course it’s not a conspiracy theory. He did more to harm US vital interests and help Islamic countries than any president in history. The Iran deal alone is more than enough evidence of his drive to subvert US national interests to Islam and a globalist agenda.»
«Might be a time to pick your poison,» Tata had also replied on X to Brennan in a since-deleted post, accusing him of treason.
Last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Darin Selnick, his deputy chief of staff who had also been performing the duties of undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Selnick was one of three top aides Hegseth fired after a leak investigation and fights between the aides and his former chief of staff.
HEGSETH ORDERS SWEEPING ARMY OVERHAUL AND CONSOLIDATION AIMED AT COUNTERING CHINA AND GOLDEN DOME CAPABILITIES
Last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Darin Selnick, his deputy chief of staff who had also been performing the duties of undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Senators also pressed Tata on more recent social media posts, including a tweet suggesting military officers were engaged in «mutinous discussions» and another calling for senior defense officials appointed by President Joe Biden to be fired. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., asked whether Tata valued loyalty to the Constitution or the administration’s political agenda more.
«We all raise our right hand to uphold the Constitution,» Tata responded, though he defended Trump’s vision of avoiding «unnecessary wars» and rebuilding the military. He pledged to uphold his oath even «if it means getting fired.»
If confirmed as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, Tata would oversee military recruitment, education, healthcare and overall force readiness. He would also play a key role in implementing efforts backed by Trump allies to reduce the number of general officers and eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the department.
Tata said he would push to improve military recruiting by expanding access to high school programs to build a «warrior ethos,» and streamline medical waivers for disqualified candidates. He also pledged to advise the chain of command on «apolitical and objective hirings,» and denied supporting any kind of «blatant purge.»
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., expressed concern about political pressure on military leadership, citing the recent ouster of Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown. Tata insisted his approach would be objective.
Sen. Jack Reed listens during a Senate hearing on Capitol Hill on March 3, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images)
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In contrast, the nomination of Katherine Sutton for a top Pentagon technology role drew little opposition. Sutton, currently chief technology advisor at U.S. Cyber Command, warned that China’s cyber threats demand urgent investment in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Sutton was pressed by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., on whether she believed Signal and Telemessage were permissible for work purposes at the DoD, after a slew of reports about the secretary’s use of the encrypted messaging applications.
«Depends on the level of classification,» said Sutton, adding there are a «wide variety» of apps in use at the DoD.
«OK, glad you got your talking point answer out,» said Slotkin. «It’s concerning to me that going into this job you can’t give a straight balls and strike answer.»
Pentagon,U.S. Defense & Military Politics,Senate,Pete Hegseth,Secretary of Defense,MILITARY
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DHS unloads on anti-ICE Dems after man arrested with manifesto, ‘disturbing’ alleged plot to kill agents
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FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security is speaking out against immigration rhetoric from Democrats and launching an investigation after a U.S. citizen in Oregon was arrested and found with a manifesto stating his plans to kill U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.
Last week, the St. Helen’s Police Department north of Portland arrested an 18-year-old during a traffic stop after he was found with knives and materials used to manufacture Molotov cocktails, according to police, Fox 12 Oregon reported.
The individual, Rayden Coleman, is also alleged to have authored a manifesto outlining a plan to kill ICE agents at a Portland ICE office in an attack using Molotov cocktails and a gun. Additionally, Coleman reportedly told investigators about his plan and that he was set to pick up an AR-15 the next day from a licensed dealer to carry out the attack, and he is also reported to have admitted making statements about beheading ICE agents.
«Every day there are more assaults, more vehicle-ramming attacks, more attempts to kill our officers,» Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. «Now, we have an American citizen planning to kill ICE officers with Molotov cocktails and gun them down. It’s disturbing.»
DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSWOMAN SPARKS ONLINE OUTRAGE OVER ‘DERANGED’ QUESTION TO ICE DIRECTOR ABOUT ‘GOING TO HELL’
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deploy pepper balls, tear gas, and flashbang grenades as hundreds of protesters march from Portland City Hall to an ICE facility in Portland, Oregon, on Feb. 1, 2026. (Sean Bascom/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«Sanctuary politicians comparing ICE day-in and day-out to the Nazi Gestapo, the Secret Police, and slave patrols have real world consequences. The men and women of ICE and CBP are fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They get up every morning to try and make our communities safer. Like everyone else, they just want to go home to their families at night. The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must end.»
The DHS statement comes the day after several House Democrats railed against ICE during a hearing with acting ICE Director Todd Lyons comparing ICE agents to Nazis and the Gestapo as they slammed the Trump administration over the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two anti-ICE activists killed during interactions opposing federal immigration authorities.
ICE REVEALS ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ARRESTS IN JUST ONE DAY AFTER ROUNDING UP ‘THUGS’ CONVICTED OF VILE CRIMES
Protesters, using whistles to alert neighborhoods to ICE activity, face off with Minneapolis police officers in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 24, 2026. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
DHS says there is an ongoing investigation into the Oregon arrest with ICE Homeland Security Investigations, and that Coleman is facing state charges on six counts of manufacturing a destructive device, and two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree assault.
Coleman is being held in the Columbia County jail and is listed as having a bail of $400,000.
ICE officers are facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them, according to DHS, along with an 8,000% increase in death threats.
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US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, along with other federal law enforcement agencies, attend a pre-enforcement meeting in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (Getty Images)
As Democrats rally against ICE across the country, Congress has until Friday at midnight to fund DHS, with Democrats threatening to shut down the government if their demands for ICE reforms are not meant and as the days go by, the odds of doing so are becoming increasingly slim.
«I think they (Democrats) are using families as political weapons,» DHS Secretary Kristi Noem exclusively told Fox News Digital last week. «And this is a little bit different, because when it’s the whole government that they shut down, they’re not necessarily just attacking security.»
«This feels like a direct attack on the security of our country, our homeland. And it’s almost as though they’ve gotten so extreme, they don’t care if we’re out there on the front lines keeping our country safe from terrorists, keeping our country safe from murderers and rapists,» Noem added.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller and Emma Colton contributed to this report.
immigration,politics,homeland security,illegal immigrants
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Iranian brutality: Nobel laureate fighting for life after barbaric assault at notorious prison
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The Norwegian Nobel Committee is calling on Iran to stop its physical abuse and life-threatening treatment of Nobel peace laureate Narges Mohammadi, who has been imprisoned since December.
The committee said it had received «credible reports» of «life-threatening mistreatment» of Mohammadi, an activist arrested by plain-clothes agents while peacefully attending the funeral of the late human rights lawyer and advocate Khosrow Alikordi.
Mohammadi has been beaten by wooden sticks and batons and dragged across the ground by her hair, tearing sections of her scalp and causing open wounds, the committee said.
US AMBASSADOR WARNS IRAN AT EMERGENCY UN MEETING THAT TRUMP IS ‘MAN OF ACTION,’ ‘ALL OPTIONS ARE ON THE TABLE’
Ali and Kiana Rahmani, children of Narges Mohammadi, an imprisoned Iranian human rights activist, attend the Nobel Peace Prize 2023 award ceremony, where they accept the award on behalf of their mother at Oslo City Hall, Norway on Dec. 10, 2023. (NTB/Javad Parsa via REUTERS )
Furthermore, she was repeatedly kicked in the genitals and pelvic region, leaving her unable to sit or move without severe pain and raising serious concerns of bone fracture, it said.
«The Committee is horrified by these acts, and reiterates that Ms. Mohammadi’s imprisonment is arbitrary and unjust,» committee Chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes said in a statement. «Her only ‘offence’ is the peaceful exercise of her fundamental rights – freedom of expression, association and assembly – in defence (sic) of women’s equality and human dignity.»
TOP IRANIAN GENERAL THREATENS TO ‘CUT OFF’ TRUMP’S HAND OVER POTENTIAL MILITARY STRIKES
Ali Rahmani, son of Narges Mohammadi, an imprisoned Iranian human rights activist, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2023, speaks after receiving the award on behalf of his mother at Oslo City Hall, Norway. (NTB/Fredrik Varfjell via REUTERS)
An Iranian prosecutor at the time of the arrest told reporters that Mohammadi made provocative remarks at the memorial ceremony in the northeastern city of Mashhad and encouraged those present «to chant norm‑breaking slogans» and «disturb the peace,» Reuters reported.
Mohammadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023, has spent much of the last two decades in Iran’s infamous Evin prison.
The committee is calling on Tehran to release Mohammadi and guarantee her access to medical care.
The state tax building burned during Iran’s protests, on a street in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 19, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
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«Mohammadi’s ordeal is yet another grim example of the brutal repression that has followed the mass protests in Iran, where countless women and men have risked their lives to demand freedom, equality and basic human rights,» it said.
iran,world politics,personal freedoms
INTERNACIONAL
Alejada de Estados Unidos y con Rusia en la mira, Europa dispara la producción de armamento
La industria militar europea vio con pánico el inicio de la guerra de Rusia contra Ucrania. Kiev quemaba en un día más obuses de artillería y munición de los que podían producir las fábricas europeas en un mes. Los arsenales europeos empezaron a vaciarse peligrosamente para sostener al esfuerzo militar europeo. Cuando Rusia atacó, Europa producía menos de 300.000 obuses de 155mm al año. Estados Unidos poco más de 170.000. Rusia disparaba a diario más de 15.000.
Cuatro años después la película es totalmente diferente gracias a una combinación de tres estrategias. Primero se pusieron en marcha fondos públicos que sirvieran de palanca para levantar inversión privada. El programa ASAP de la Comisión Europea, con 500 millones de euros, fue el germen. Los Estados miembros pusieron seguidamente 2.000 millones de euros más y la industria añadió 8.000 millones cuando los ministerios de Defensa empezaron a firmar contratos a largo plazo que aseguraba la venta de todo lo producido, para rellenar arsenales y para seguir ayudando a Ucrania.
La segunda pata fue la diversificación geográfica. Rheinmetall se expandió por el continente y ya tiene plantas en cinco países europeos: Alemania, España, Bulgaria, Hungría y Lituania. Además, desarrolla en Ucrania una fábrica conjunta con un socio empresarial ucraniano. KNDS fabrica ya en Francia, Italia y Letonia. Nammo en Noruega, Finlandia, Suecia y ultima la apertura de una fábrica en Dinamarca.
El tercer paso fue abrir el cuello de botella que frenaba el aumento de la fabricación de obuses. El problema no estaba en fabricar las carcasas metálicas, sino en rellenarlas de explosivos. KNDS usó 41 millones de euros del programa europeo para aumentar su producción de pólvora. Nammo triplicó esa capacidad en tres años en una fábrica sueca.
Europa producirá ya este año más de dos millones de obuses de artillería, más del doble que la industria estadounidense y sólo superada por una Rusia que tiene aportes sustanciales de Corea del Norte.
Para cuando arranque 2027, la producción europea llegará a 2,5 millones de obuses. Washington, en cambio, calculaba alcanzar 1,2 millones en 2025 pero se ha estancado en poco más de medio millón y ahora estima que necesitará todo 2026 para llegar al millón. Europa aumenta su capacidad militar industrial porque sabe que poco puede contar ya con Estados Unidos y que debe seguir armando a Ucrania y rellenar sus arsenales.
El cambio vino de la mano principalmente de unas pocas empresas: Rheinmetall, KNDS, BAE Systems y Nammo. Atraídas por los fondos nacionales y europeos, pero sobre todo por contratos a largo plazo que les aseguran ventas durante lo que queda de década, lanzaron una fuerte inversión en nuevas plantas y en nuevas líneas de fabricación.
El símbolo está en Unterlub, un pueblo de la Baja Sajonia alemana donde Rheinmetall inauguró la mayor fábrica de munición de Europa, construida en menos de 18 meses y con una inversión de más de 500 millones de euros. Sólo de esa fábrica podrán salir, trabajando en un solo turno, 350.000 obuses de artillería al año. Si la fábrica trabajara 24 horas al día triplicando turnos superaría el millón de obuses al año.
En menos de cuatro años los europeos han completado su mayor reconversión industrial militar desde el fin de la Guerra Fría, cuando redujeron rápidamente su producción militar porque no había comprador para tanta arma y tanta munición.
Mientras tanto, Estados Unidos se quedó atrás. En febrero de 2024, Washington dijo que en 2025 estaría fabricando 1,2 millones de obuses. Pero desde septiembre de 2024 su producción está estancada. Según los medios estadounidenses, el problema es que la certificación es más lenta que en Europa, pero sobre todo que la planta que General Dynamics debía poner a toda máquina en Mesquite (Texas) lleva un año de retrasos.
El cambio industrial tiene consecuencias que van más allá de los números de producción. Por primera desde 1945 los europeos estarían en situación de sostener una guerra convencional de alta intensidad con sus propias industrias. Además, Europa puede ahora suministrar a Ucrania casi todo lo que necesita en el plano militar, reduciendo esa dependencia de Estados Unidos. El 80% de la munición de artillería que dispara ahora Ucrania es europea.
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