AI
Friday, November 28, 2025 4:34:14 PM
One other - Trump intervenes to boost Hegseth aide who left military for politics
A waiver granted by the president allows Ricky Buria, a top adviser to the defense secretary,
to bypass federal law and depart the Marine Corps at a rank he held only briefly.
July 21, 2025
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appears on Capitol Hill in June. At far right, wearing a red tie, is Ricky Buria, who has served as Hegseth's acting chief of staff since April. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
By Dan Lamothe
President Donald Trump will allow one of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s top advisers to sidestep legal requirements and retire from the military at a rank he held only briefly, apparently setting aside suspicions about the aide’s political loyalties raised in conservative media, officials familiar with the matter said.
The military retirement of Marine Corps Col. Ricky D. Buria became official this month, service officials said in an email to The Washington Post. Absent any disciplinary action, he will be considered a colonel in perpetuity despite having served in the rank only since November 2024. Federal law requires most military officers with his standing to hold a rank for three years before they may retire with it, though there are exceptions that allow the president to intervene through a waiver in cases “involving extreme hardship or exceptional or unusual circumstances.”
Trump’s favor to Buria is not expected to increase his government pension, which will be calculated based on his pay over the top three years of his military career, one person familiar with the matter said, speaking like some others on the condition of anonymity because of a fear of reprisal. Nevertheless, the waiver authorized by Trump allows Buria to retain his most recent military honorific, an important status symbol for many who make a full career of their service.
Buria, 43, submitted his retirement paperwork in April with ambitions of becoming Hegseth’s next chief of staff, but the White House has blocked him from taking that position, defense officials said. He has held the role on an acting basis instead. Buria has been viewed skeptically because of his friendliness with then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, whom he served as a junior military assistant, and other Biden-era political appointees.
[...]
Among those who have advocated on Buria’s behalf is Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, who has fulfilled an unofficial and unorthodox role .. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/04/30/jennifer-hegseth-pentagon-trump/ .. shaping Pentagon affairs.
[...]
Buria’s critics in the White House and at the Pentagon say his brusque nature and his penchant for self-promotion have rubbed some people the wrong way, people familiar with the matter have said. Those displeased with his newfound clout include other aides on Hegseth’s staff, some of whom think Buria has sought to marginalize them to boost his own standing with the defense secretary, these people said.
The decision by Hegseth, a National Guard veteran and former Fox News personality, to elevate Buria, and Buria’s handling of his growing influence, irritated numerous senior military officers too, people familiar with the matter said.
[...]
In May, Trump was asked about Buria and a report in the New York Post that he had allegedly bad-mouthed Trump and Vance on occasion. The Washington Post has not independently verified those claims, and Buria has not addressed them publicly.
Trump said in response to the question that he had “no idea” who Buria is, but “I would recommend that we don’t take him” if the reporting is true.
“I’ll take a look,” Trump said. “Buria? I’ll check it out.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/07/21/hegseth-ricky-buria-waiver/
A waiver granted by the president allows Ricky Buria, a top adviser to the defense secretary,
to bypass federal law and depart the Marine Corps at a rank he held only briefly.
July 21, 2025
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appears on Capitol Hill in June. At far right, wearing a red tie, is Ricky Buria, who has served as Hegseth's acting chief of staff since April. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)
By Dan Lamothe
President Donald Trump will allow one of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s top advisers to sidestep legal requirements and retire from the military at a rank he held only briefly, apparently setting aside suspicions about the aide’s political loyalties raised in conservative media, officials familiar with the matter said.
The military retirement of Marine Corps Col. Ricky D. Buria became official this month, service officials said in an email to The Washington Post. Absent any disciplinary action, he will be considered a colonel in perpetuity despite having served in the rank only since November 2024. Federal law requires most military officers with his standing to hold a rank for three years before they may retire with it, though there are exceptions that allow the president to intervene through a waiver in cases “involving extreme hardship or exceptional or unusual circumstances.”
Trump’s favor to Buria is not expected to increase his government pension, which will be calculated based on his pay over the top three years of his military career, one person familiar with the matter said, speaking like some others on the condition of anonymity because of a fear of reprisal. Nevertheless, the waiver authorized by Trump allows Buria to retain his most recent military honorific, an important status symbol for many who make a full career of their service.
Buria, 43, submitted his retirement paperwork in April with ambitions of becoming Hegseth’s next chief of staff, but the White House has blocked him from taking that position, defense officials said. He has held the role on an acting basis instead. Buria has been viewed skeptically because of his friendliness with then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, whom he served as a junior military assistant, and other Biden-era political appointees.
[...]
Among those who have advocated on Buria’s behalf is Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, who has fulfilled an unofficial and unorthodox role .. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/04/30/jennifer-hegseth-pentagon-trump/ .. shaping Pentagon affairs.
[...]
Buria’s critics in the White House and at the Pentagon say his brusque nature and his penchant for self-promotion have rubbed some people the wrong way, people familiar with the matter have said. Those displeased with his newfound clout include other aides on Hegseth’s staff, some of whom think Buria has sought to marginalize them to boost his own standing with the defense secretary, these people said.
The decision by Hegseth, a National Guard veteran and former Fox News personality, to elevate Buria, and Buria’s handling of his growing influence, irritated numerous senior military officers too, people familiar with the matter said.
[...]
In May, Trump was asked about Buria and a report in the New York Post that he had allegedly bad-mouthed Trump and Vance on occasion. The Washington Post has not independently verified those claims, and Buria has not addressed them publicly.
Trump said in response to the question that he had “no idea” who Buria is, but “I would recommend that we don’t take him” if the reporting is true.
“I’ll take a look,” Trump said. “Buria? I’ll check it out.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/07/21/hegseth-ricky-buria-waiver/
It was Plato who said, “He, O men, is the wisest, who like Socrates, knows that his wisdom is in truth worth nothing”
Discover What Traders Are Watching
Explore small cap ideas before they hit the headlines.
