Though they had no qualms when he served during the Trump administration, Republican elected officials are irate with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, General Mark Milley.
Milley went viral in recent months for his rebuttal to Republicans' hysteria over Critical Race Theory, and—more recently—for revelations that he assured his Chinese government counterparts that the Trump administration wouldn't target China to delay the peaceful transfer of power in the United States.
On Wednesday, Milley testified before the House Armed Services Committee to answer questions on the widely-panned Afghanistan withdrawal and other developments in the Biden administration.
At one point in the hearing, Milley had a brief but tense interaction with Republican Congressman Ronny Jackson of Texas.
Watch below.
Milley's exasperated gasp to Rep. Ronny Jackson here speaks volumespic.twitter.com/y4hIXYcr41— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1632937290
Jackson called for Milley's resignation, saying:
"I submit to you that perhaps we would not have had 13 service members and hundreds of Afghans killed, 18 service members wounded, and countless U.S. citizens abandoned and left as Taliban hostages if you had been more focused on your duties to this country instead of defending and pandering to the Biden administration's woke social experiment with the U.S. military, doing book interviews, and colluding with Chinese military officials."
Jackson—now in full grandstanding mode—asked Milley:
"General Milley, will you now resign?"
Milley scoffed, responding:
"I serve at the pleasure of the President, Mr. Jackson."
People shared Milley's exasperation.
Proving once and for all that being Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff requires a Herculean amount of patience: General Milley FTW.https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1443269721483321356\u00a0\u2026— Dana R Fisher, PhD (@Dana R Fisher, PhD) 1632937540
Milley's poker face winning yet again todayhttps://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1443269721483321356\u00a0\u2026— Lara Seligman (@Lara Seligman) 1632938223
a nations exasperated gasphttps://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1443269721483321356\u00a0\u2026— Look here, Jack (@Look here, Jack) 1632941310
Ronnie Boy don't mess with a general. You are a child.https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1443269721483321356\u00a0\u2026— Rick at Grandview Bay GC\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a (@Rick at Grandview Bay GC\ud83c\udf0a\ud83c\udf0a) 1632941130
Do Rs know they are embarrassing themselves?https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1443269721483321356\u00a0\u2026— Patricia (@Patricia) 1632940932
Jackson was in the Military as a Rear Admiral, and was nominated to serve as Secretary of Veterans Affairs in the Trump Administration. In 2018, the Office of the Inspector General conducted an investigation that confirmed Jackson had sexually harassed his female employees, created a hostile work environment, been intoxicated on the job. Other reports said he handed out prescription drugs "like they were candy" while working in the White House.
Jackson eventually withdrew himself from consideration for the position.
Given Jackson's past, it spoke volumes that Milley referred to him as "Mr.", instead of "Admiral" or "Dr."
Mr. Jackson. \n\nNot Admiral. He\u2019s a sad excuse of a former flag officer.https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1443269721483321356\u00a0\u2026— Fred Wellman (@Fred Wellman) 1632937616
That Gen. Milley addresses Jackson, who is himself a retired Rear Admiral and a Congressperson, as "Mr."\nalso speaks delicious volumes. @atruparhttps://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1443269721483321356\u00a0\u2026— Wouter van der Horst (@Wouter van der Horst) 1632940523
Mr. Jackson https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1443269721483321356\u00a0\u2026— Mannish Boy (@Mannish Boy) 1632941682
\u201cMister\u2026.\u201d Better than the snort.https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1443269721483321356\u00a0\u2026— Jake (@Jake) 1632940802
Biden has said he has no intentions of removing Milley.
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