Nathan McCormack
- X: semi-anonymous account (name "Nate") — reportedly removed after the story broke; no current verified handle
- Status: Alive
- Role: US Army Colonel. Former Levant and Egypt branch chief in the Joint Staff's J5 Strategic Planning Directorate (from June 2024 until his removal).
Bonhoeffer Criteria Scores (1–10)
See the Bonhoeffer Criteria for full criterion definitions.
| # | Criterion | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Articulates the blocker | 7 |
| 2 | Speaks out publicly | 7 |
| 3 | Understands the situation | 9 |
| 4 | Will not shut up | 6 |
| 5 | Calls out US intel-service problems | — |
| 6 | Calls out foreign influence on US politicians | 9 |
| 7 | Calls out captured US politicians | 7 |
| 8 | Calls out intel-service-caused deaths of Americans | — |
| 9 | Ethics first | 8 |
| 10 | Cannot be bought | 7 |
| 11 | Executive experience | 7 |
| 12 | Willing to criticize Israel publicly | 10 |
| 13 | Worked in government | 9 |
| 14 | Active political voice on social media | 5 |
| 15 | Economic / macroeconomic literacy | — |
Notes
According to multiple news reports (Middle East Eye, The JC, JNS, TRT World), Colonel McCormack was removed from the Joint Chiefs of Staff's J5 planning directorate in 2025 after posts on a semi-anonymous social-media account surfaced. The account reportedly described Israel as a "death cult" and the "worst ally" of the United States, referred to "Netanyahu and his Judeo-supremacist cronies," and argued that pro-Israel activists in the US prioritize support for Israel over actual US foreign-policy interests. Reporting also indicates the posts stated that the Department of Defense considered the Gaza Health Ministry's casualty figures "generally reliable."
A Joint Staff official confirmed his removal and reassignment pending further action, stating that his posts "do not reflect the position of the Joint Staff or the Department of Defense." His account was subsequently removed.
The relevance to the Bonhoeffer standard is direct: a career US government insider — the Pentagon's own chief Israel planner — publicly named what he saw as undue foreign influence over US foreign policy, and accepted the loss of his position as the cost. Willingness to criticize Israel publicly and to name foreign influence on US policy are among the highest-cost positions in American public life; McCormack took them and paid a career price. His fitness for elected office is a recommendation, not an established candidacy — he has not, as of this writing, declared a run.
All characterizations above are attributed to news reporting, not stated as established fact.