Washington DC - Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has slammed President Donald Trump for putting "amateur isolationists" at the Pentagon.

Speaking to The New York Times, the Kentucky Republican criticized Trump for his Defense Department picks, and called him out for firing General Timothy Haugh, the head of the National Security Agency (NSA) and US Cyber Command (USCC).

"If decades of experience in uniform isn’t enough to lead the NSA, but amateur isolationists can hold senior policy jobs at the Pentagon, then what exactly are the criteria for working on this administration’s national security staff?" McConnell said. "I can't figure it out."

McConnell did not directly attack Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has no prior military experience except as a former Army National Guard officer, or National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. But he did take aim at other appointees.

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In March, McConnell criticized Trump's decision to appoint Michael DiMino as deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, as well as his equivalent appointment in South and Southeast Asia.

Last week, McConnell turned his ire towards Trump's tariff regime, writing a multi-post rant on X against the impact that such a trade war will have on the cost of living in the US.

"Tariffs drive up the cost of goods and services," McConnell said in a post. "They are a tax on everyday working Americans."

"With so much at stake globally, the last thing we need is to pick fights with the very friends with whom we should be working with to protect against China’s predatory and unfair trade practices."