❓WHAT HAPPENED: President Donald J. Trump’s advisers have paused efforts to replace Joe Biden holdover and suspected leaker Ricky Buria as acting chief of staff to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, allowing him to continue in the role.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Ricky Buria, Pete Hegseth, Trump administration officials, and former Pentagon staff such as Joe Kasper and Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Recent months, primarily at the Pentagon and the White House.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Hegseth has since defended Buria at every turn, even as the White House told the defense secretary he could keep Buria but that he would never become chief of staff,” according to The Guardian.
🎯IMPACT: Buria remains in a key Pentagon role despite White House reservations, while questions linger regarding his role in internal controversies.
President Donald J. Trump’s advisers have decided to halt efforts to find a new chief of staff for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, allowing Joe Biden holdover Ricky Buria to continue in an acting capacity, sources claim. While Buria is not expected to be formally approved for the role, the push to replace him has lost momentum.
Buria’s efforts to amass power within the Defense Department were first exposed by The National Pulse. These efforts appear to have been largely successful, despite his history of donating to Democrats such as Mike O’Brien—who claims President Trump “hates veterans”—through the highly controversial ActBlue platform.
His influence has grown as he filled a power vacuum created by the departure of key aides earlier this year, including Joe Kasper and Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short, amid a contentious leak investigation. Concerningly, Buria himself is accused of being a significant source of leaks, with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations reportedly investigating his alleged disclosures to media that are generally hostile to the Trump administration.
According to The Guardian, “Hegseth has… defended Buria at every turn, even as the White House told the defense secretary he could keep Buria but that he would never become chief of staff.”
Nevertheless, Buria has effectively taken on the role regardless, with West Wing staffers reportedly referring to him as “Chief Ricky.”
Hegseth’s decision to retain Buria has effectively handed him the responsibilities of the chief of staff role, despite the White House’s reservations. The situation reflects ongoing tensions and unresolved issues within the Pentagon’s leadership under the Trump administration.
A favorite of Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Buria has maintained links with several Biden-era staffers. Biden Department of Defense official Anne Powers publicly referred to Buria as her “partner in crime” on LinkedIn.
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