Regarding Rob Kerchner’s May 26 letter:
Yes, Pete Hegseth and Dan Bongino have taken deep pay cuts to accept their appointments as secretary of defense and deputy director of the FBI, respectively. I have no doubt they both love their country, but let’s not pretend they are permanent pay cuts, which will cause them great economic injury. These are not career posts. Once they exit public service, Mr. Hegseth and Mr. Bongino will be able to cash in handsomely, just like many Republicans and Democrats before them, if they choose.
Think corporate board seats, seven-figure book deals, speaking gigs, cable news contracts, venture capital and hedge fund partnerships, and of course, the revolving door of lobbying.
And Mr. Kerchner’s invocation of Elon Musk is a red herring. Mr. Musk holds no Senate-confirmed government post. What exactly is the relevance?
If Mr. Kerchner wants to draw a partisan contrast, he needs to provide facts, not vague insinuations. Which Democratic cabinet secretaries or agency heads in recent times got rich while in office? Name them. Show us the evidence.
Meanwhile there is one public official whose wealth is booming during his time in office. He’s profiting from meme-coin crypto deals, and his company is striking foreign real estate ventures in the Middle East and Vietnam. If we’re going to talk about enriching oneself through public office, let’s at least be honest about who’s doing it.
Philip Wasserman
Stevenson Ranch
