The Bulwark Daily
The Bulwark Daily

Michael Weiss: The Clown Car at the Pentagon

September 2, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In September 2025, the U.S. military is fighting a war with Iran, running critically low on key munitions, and has no Senate-confirmed leadership in the Army—no secretary, no deputy undersecretary, no chief of staff, no top general, no confirmed commander for troops in Europe. The acting chief of staff to the Secretary of Defense is a man named Ricky Burea, a retired Marine colonel who signed his own retirement papers, failed a polygraph, and is widely referred to inside the Pentagon as "Rasputin." According to journalist Michael Weiss, Burea was the person who actually typed Pete Hegseth's messages into the Signal chat that accidentally included Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg. Weiss reports this on the podcast for the first time, citing two DOD sources. The episode traces how a combination of personnel chaos, corruption, and strategic incoherence at the Pentagon is creating dangerous vulnerabilities across multiple theaters of conflict.

The Clown Car at the Pentagon

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What you'll learn

  • 1 The Bulwark Daily: Michael Weiss - The Clown Car at the Pentagon
  • 2 Main Outline
  • 3 (05:37) **Dan Driscoll Resigns as Army Secretary** - Weiss explains why this personnel move matters politically and militarily
  • 4 (07:47) **The Missing Story: Ricky Barrea, "Rasputin Ricky"** - Weiss reveals the figure behind the chaos at the Pentagon who hasn't been getting attention
  • 5 (12:37) **Hung Cao Nominated for Navy Secretary** - Weiss profiles Trump's choice to lead the Navy
  • 6 (15:18) **ProPublica's $620 Million Loan to Don Jr.'s Startup** - Weiss connects the dots on Pentagon cronyism
  • 7 (20:32) **Russia Returns to the G20** - Weiss explains the significance of Russia's finance minister attending the G20 in Asheville

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

The Army is currently operating without any Senate-confirmed civilian or military leaders at the top. For Navy secretary, Trump is nominating an election-denying veteran who thinks witches and Wiccans are taking over cities. And when Hegseth is not busy purging the DOD’s leadership, he seems to be under the spell of a Rasputin-like character who failed a polygraph and may have taken the supposedly sober defense secretary out for a bender. Meanwhile, Don Jr. got another Pentagon contract, and the administration keeps ignoring the fact that Russia is helping Iran try to kill American soldiers and sailors. Plus: Tim today launched a new series featuring a younger generation of Democratic operatives who are working hard to win the midterms. First up is Biden White House alum Rodericka Applewhaite.

New Bulwark pod host Michael Weiss and Rodericka Applewhaite join Tim Miller. 

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