Trump's team plans 'purges' of officers and generals in Pentagon - Reuters
Serious personnel changes may take place at the US Department of Defense (photo: Wikimedia by Touch Of Light)
Members of the transition team of newly elected President Donald Trump are compiling a list of military officials to be dismissed. The list is expected to include members of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, reports Reuters.
According to two anonymous sources from the agency, the planning of dismissals is still in its early stages and may change as the Trump administration is formed. One of the sources questioned the advisability of such upheavals within the US Department of Defense.
This information highlights the potential for significant changes within the Pentagon.
"Everyone will disappear"
It is currently unclear whether Trump himself will support this initiative, although he has previously been vocal in his opposition to leaders within the defense department who criticized him. During his campaign, the Republican candidate talked about firing generals who had woken up, as well as those responsible for the controversial withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021.
The second source informed Reuters that the new administration will likely focus on American officers associated with Trump's former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley.
Bob Woodward's new book, War, quotes Milley referring to the newly elected president as a fascist to the bone. Trump’s allies have turned against Milley for such disloyalty to the former president.
"Every single person that was elevated and appointed by Milley will be gone. There's a very detailed list of everybody that was affiliated with Milley. And they will all be gone," said the second source.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff include the highest-ranking officers in the US military and comprise the heads of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, National Guard and Space Force.
Iron head of the Pentagon
The announcement of plans to dismiss top US military leadership came the day after Trump selected Fox News commentator and veteran Pete Hegseth as his defense secretary. Recently, Hegseth demonstrated a willingness to conduct a purge within the Pentagon.
"The next president of the United States needs to radically overhaul Pentagon senior leadership to make us ready to defend our nation and defeat our enemies. Lots of people need to be fired," Hegseth said in his 2024 book The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free.
However, it remains unclear whether Hegseth’s lack of management experience could complicate his confirmation in the Senate and whether a more traditional candidate for the position could execute such sweeping dismissals.
Additionally, Hegseth has set his sights on the successor to Milley's successor, Air Force General C.Q. Brown. In his book, the newly appointed defense secretary reflects on whether Brown earned his position because of his race.
"Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We'll never know, but always doubt - which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn't really much matter," Hegseth wrote.
Reuters’ first source noted that Brown would be among many officers expected to retire.
"The chiefs of the Joint Chiefs and all the vice chiefs will be fired immediately," the source said, adding that this is still just preliminary planning.
Bureaucratic excess
Some current and former American officials downplay the likelihood of such significant personnel changes, arguing that it would be unnecessary and destructive during a time of global upheaval, with ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
The first source told the agency that, from a bureaucratic standpoint, it would be difficult to fire and replace a significant portion of the US military leadership. The source suggested that such planning might be seen as boasting from Trump’s allies.
Meanwhile, the second source from Reuters speculated that those within Trump’s camp believe the Joint Chiefs of Staff should be reduced due to bureaucratic excess.
According to the source, such cuts could be sustained in an organization as large as the US Armed Forces.
"These people are not irreplaceable. They are very replaceable. And then the other thing too is there is no shortage of people that will step up. In World War Two, we were very rapidly appointing people in their 30s or people competent to be generals. And you know what? We won the war," the source told the agency.
Trump's new administration
Recently, newly elected US President Donald Trump announced several key figures for his future administration. Many of these top officials have previously established themselves as strong skeptics of Ukraine.
The President revealed the name of his Secretary of Defense - television host and veteran Pete Hegseth.
Additionally, the US National Intelligence may be headed by Tulsi Gabbard, who has previously spread anti-Ukrainian propaganda and discussed bio laboratories in Ukraine.
For more details about who will join the new US president’s team, read the article by RBC-Ukraine.
