Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that President Donald Trump’s sudden dismissal of the top military officer during a wave of dismissals at the Pentagon is not uncommon. He dismissed the criticism of critics who said that the new administration was trying to inject politics into the military.
He said that he also believed more firings could be on the way.
Hegseth stated on “Fox News Sunday” that the removal from office of Air Force Gen. Brown Jr.’s appointment as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Friday night was “nothing new”. “The president must be able to select his team of national security advisors. “
Hegseth said that “there have been many presidents” who “changed things”, citing former commanders in chief from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George H.W. Bush to Barack Obama, who according to the secretary for defense, “fired or dismissed hundreds of military officials”.
Obama removed Army General David McKiernan as commander of the U.S. Trump promised to remove “woke” ideologies from the military when he ran for a second term. It is keeping a promise to remove so many leaders.
Hegeseth and Trump and their supporters are not hiding the fact that they want to remove military officers who support equality, diversity, equity, and inclusion. According to the administration, it is focused on strengthening lethal combatants.
Brown, the only Black general to hold the position, spent 16 months in office as chair. The conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East expanded during his tenure as chair. Trump nominated Brown as the chief of the Air Force for 2020.
Trump wants Brown to be replaced by Air Force Lt.Gen. Dan “Razin Caine”, who retired in December and must be confirmed for active duty by the Senate.
Hegseth said Friday’s dismissals affected six three- and four-star generals and were “a reflection of the president wanting the right people around him to execute the national security approach we want to take.”
Brown was described as “honorable” by Trump, but he added that “he is not the man at the moment”, without mentioning any shortcomings. Trump used this as a reason to target him in his war against inclusion within the military.
Caine received praise from the Defense Secretary who stated that Trump respected leaders “who free warfighters in a dangerous environment”.
George Casey retired general, described the firings as “extremely unstable”. He served as commander of U.S. and multinational forces in Iraq from 2004 to 2007 under Republican President George W. Bush.
Casey stated on ABC’s This Week, “That’s [his] prerogative.” He is the chief of the armed forces.
Jack Reed is the top Democrat in the Senate Armed Services Committee. He told ABC that Trump, Hegseth, and others were trying to politicize the Defense Department.
Hegseth was also asked by Fox News whether officials were preparing another list of Defense officials they planned to dismiss. He denies that there is a list but says that more dismissals could be coming.
Hegseth said, “We pay attention to the willingness of military leaders to obey lawful instructions. “Joe Biden gave legal orders. Many are bad, and things like COVID-19 directives “erode” the military’s ideologic foundation.
“President Trump has given another set of lawful orders, and they will be followed,” the Defense secretary said. “If they’re not followed, then those officers will find the door.”