Trump administration plans unprecedented military purge
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's candidate for Secretary of Defense, said he would fire "every general who carried water for Obama and Biden." This is the first such operation in U.S. history. Until now, every administration has strictly adhered to the principle of not interfering in the internal affairs of the military. This time, the most crucial army commanders are on the list.
One of the unwritten rules governing relations between politicians and the military was mutual respect regardless of political views. The army was apolitical, no matter who occupied the White House. Donald Trump's administration plans to depart from this principle, which his circle has been announcing for several months.
Trump himself promised during the election campaign to cleanse the military of the so-called "woke generals," those who, despite being appointed to positions during his presidency, followed the new administration's orders on implementing equality in the army, such as allowing gay service members.
The first victim of the purge was General Mark Milley. The former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman was a member of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council until Tuesday. He was appointed as Chairman by Trump. However, he subsequently blocked several radical changes that the Republican administration wanted to implement, which angered the president.
He opposed, among other things, the method of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, which he discussed during a Senate committee hearing. During the storming of the Capitol, he sent the National Guard to protect key institutions and, along with other chiefs of staff, issued a statement condemning Trump's actions and reminding all service members of their duty to support and defend the Constitution and reject extremism.
A year later, Trump suggested that Milley should face the death penalty for conducting secret talks with China. This was a conversation conducted during Trump's first presidency to calm tense relations between the countries, carried out with the consent and knowledge of then-Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller.
Generals "on the chopping block"
Just after the presidential election results were announced, a list of 20 colonels, generals, and admirals who expressed support for diversity and inclusion initiatives within the military emerged. Among them was Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Chief of Naval Operations. She jeopardized her position not only by supporting the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the armed forces but also simply because she is a woman.
When the Senate voted on her nomination, Republicans acknowledged her knowledge and experience on the one hand. The other claimed that "President Biden nominated Adm. Franchetti not because she is qualified or competent to do the job, but due to this administration's obsession with diversity and integration," as stated by Senator Roger Marshall, a Republican from Kansas who voted against her nomination.
At the same time, Senator Tommy Tuberville, a Republican from Alabama, was blocking over 400 military nominations in the Senate in protest against the Department of Defense's policy on abortion. Even their party colleagues, like Senator Dan Sullivan from Alaska and Senator Joni Ernst from Iowa, urged them to step down and not create chaos within the armed forces' operations.
Those nominated at that time are now most threatened with dismissal. The Republican list includes the names of Gen. David Allvin, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and Lt. Gen. Christopher Mahoney, Deputy Commander of the Marine Corps.
Breaking the system
Republican Dan Sullivan is a Marine Corps Reserve Colonel and an Afghanistan veteran. He previously emphasized that the most important thing for him is the system's efficient operation, which his party colleagues are obstructing. However, he now supports Pete Hegseth's selection as head of the Pentagon. Before the elections, Hegseth had already announced that he would fire "every general who carried water for Obama and Biden."
It's not about competencies or from whose nomination the officer was appointed. The key criterion for dismissing service members will be their views. The Trump team considers as traitors any officer who supports gay and lesbian service or is an advocate for abortion, IVF, or diversity in the military. American commentators note that such actions might dismantle the complex officer nomination system developed over the years.
Appointments to the highest positions in the U.S. military are long and complicated, spanning many years, regardless of who is currently in power. Before an officer is nominated, the Pentagon gathers opinions from other commanders and then presents several candidates to the president, who chooses one to submit to the Senate for approval.
It's much easier to dismiss an officer. This is one of the president's prerogatives, for which he does not need the Senate's or Pentagon's consent. However, ignoring most of the highest officers and attempting to appoint party-line replacements may cause paralysis. Democratic senators, as well as less radical Republicans like Lisa Murkowski, may block political appointments, similar to what Tuberville and Marshall did.
This may hinder not only the operation of the U.S. military but also create obstacles in international cooperation.
