“We’re On Your Team”: The GOP’s Authoritarian Hangover

Pentagon secrecy. Unilateral strikes. And now Republicans are finding themselves on the outside looking in

For weeks now, tensions between Congress and the Trump administration’s Pentagon have been escalating, particularly inside the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC). However, on November 4, 2025, those tensions spilled into public view in a way that can no longer be ignored.

What began as a routine nomination hearing considering, among others, Austin J.…