Anthony Tata testifies Tuesday, May 6, 2025, during a Senate Armed Forces Committee confirmation hearing to become undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. Tata, a retired Army brigadier general nominated to oversee millions of service members and their families, pledged to be an apolitical leader as he came under fire from Democrats for past comments denigrating liberals. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Anthony Tata, a retired Army brigadier general nominated to oversee millions of service members and their families, pledged to be an apolitical leader Tuesday as he came under fire from Democrats for past comments denigrating liberals.
Tata, 65, said he regretted his former remarks, which falsely called former President Barack Obama a Muslim, disparaged Islam and accused prominent Democratic politicians of being terrorist sympathizers. He described his comments as “out of character.”
“I regret it and I can guarantee you that I will be, if confirmed, an apolitical leader that is trying to take care of the men and women in uniform and their families and the [Department of Defense] civilians,” he said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Tata’s history of making inflammatory statements on social media and radio programs tanked his nomination in 2020 to serve as the undersecretary of defense for policy during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Five years later, Democrats said they doubted whether Tata would be able to serve impartially as undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness.
They pointed to a November 2024 social media post by Tata in which he recommended firing many four-star generals appointed by former President Joe Biden and called for appointing leaders who are “all oars in the water to achieve Trump agenda 47.”
“Your nomination is widely perceived as being driven by political loyalty rather than professional qualifications,” said Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii. “You would be tasked with leading a diverse workforce, one that includes Muslim service members, women in combat roles, LGBTQ personnel and senior leaders who you have attacked or proposed be fired. Given this record, I question whether you would be able to lead with impartiality, dignity and professionalism.”
Tata defended his comments as a rational response to a CNN news story that reported Pentagon officials were discussing how to respond if Trump issued orders to deploy active-duty troops domestically and fire large swaths of apolitical staffers.
“The admirals and generals don’t get to choose which lawful orders that they follow,” Tata said. “The admirals and generals work for the civilian leadership and that civilian leadership is codified in Article Two of our Constitution. And so I found it disturbing, to say the least, that we had admirals and generals reported by CNN discussing resisting the president, resisting the president’s vision and directives, lawful orders.”
When Democrats said the story referenced unlawful orders, Tata countered it referred to “controversial” orders and those were “very subject to interpretation.”
He said he did not believe generals should be selected for their loyalty to Trump and said his post on X supporting “Trump agenda 47” alluded to Trump’s focus on shipbuilding, not engaging in “needless wars” and other foreign policy objectives.
He noted he made the post when he was a private citizen.
Tata served in the Army for 28 years before retiring in 2009. His military career included commanding positions in the 82nd Airborne Division, 101st Airborne Division and the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan.
After the Army, Tata worked as a chief operating officer for a district of the District of Columbia Public Schools, superintendent of the largest public school district in North Carolina and North Carolina’s transportation secretary.
In 2020, after Tata’s nomination for undersecretary of defense for policy fell apart, Trump appointed Tata as “the official performing the duties of the deputy undersecretary of defense for policy” — a role that did not require Senate confirmation.
Republicans on Tuesday praised Tata’s wide-ranging background in service.
His resume, argued Republican Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska, “epitomizes the breadth of experience required to oversee the department’s most importance resource and that, of course, is its people.”
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a former member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, vouched for Tata’s character and attempted to get ahead of Democrats’ questions about Tata’s divisive comments.
“The thing I’ve learned about Tony is that he takes responsibility for his words and actions, he learns from his past mistakes, which is a testament of a good leader,” Tillis said.
If confirmed, Tata said he intended to focus on recruiting and retention, transition to civilian life, military health on and off the battlefield, education, and safety standards pertaining to blast exposure from firing weapons and aviation.
“I will always, as I’ve demonstrated over my decades of service, make my highest priority the health and welfare of our brave men and women in uniform and our [Department of Defense] civilians and contract force,” he said.
