Former Pence chief of staff assesses Trump appointments

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WAVY) — It was a refreshing scene at the White House Wednesday as current President Joe Biden sat with President-elect Donald Trump to start the transition process. Except for a cacophony of questions from the White House press corps, the scene was serene.

Former Mike Pence chief of staff Marc Short stopped by WAVY-TV 10 to offer his assessment of who has made the cut to join the Trump administration.

"I think so far it's been very encouraging for conservative," Short said.

Short, a Virginia Beach native, didn't hesitate to jump in on what Trump 2.0 could mean for Hampton Roads in an interview with 10 On Your Side's Chris Horne.

"I don't think there's any doubt that Hampton Roads is an essential part of our nation's defense," Short said.

Waltz was tapped as the National Security advisor, and a Fox News host, Pete Hegseth, was selected as Trump's choice for defense secretary.

"Well, I think that he's obviously picked Pete Hegseth ," Short said. "And I think that there's a lot of questions about Pete. But I think people forget that Pete has served two tours in combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He served for 20 years. He won a Bronze Star in both of those engagements. And I got to know Pete when he was running Concerned Vets for America."

That's a long way from running the world's largest military with a budget of $841.4 billion.

According to the Associated Press, the 44-year-old wants to excise so-called woke programs from the military and he has questioned having women in combat.