“The man who is now the president’s principal adviser on the nation’s defense, tasked with leading the largest employer in the world and managing the fallout from Trump’s military retrenchment, has less experience in government (a year and a half) or the military (none) than any defense secretary since an oil magnate served as the acting head of the Pentagon for several weeks during Watergate 45 years ago.” America, Meet Your (Acting) Secretary of Defense. It’s hard to overstate how a big of a deal it is that James Mattis is out as SecDef. It’s equally hard to overstate how difficult it will be to fill that role with someone whose views “are better aligned” with the president (and who is still qualified).