Overview
- Trump, posting just after midnight Wednesday on Truth Social, named Robert Karem and wrote "FIRE THE BUM" after video showed him prompting Senator Mitch McConnell to keep the hearing open for more questions.
- The exchange came during a Tuesday Senate Appropriations defense hearing where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chair General Dan Caine testified on the Pentagon budget and the war in Iran.
- Karem is a longtime Republican national security aide whom Trump nominated in 2017 to be assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, and he now serves as the majority clerk for the Senate’s defense spending panel.
- The staff prompt — "Baldwin, Shaheen, and Kennedy still have questions" — matches common Hill practice where aides flag pending rounds so the chair can recognize senators in order.
- The clip drew wide interest because McConnell, 84, has faced questions about his health after prior on-camera lapses that left viewers unsure if he could continue speaking.