Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testifies Jan. 14, 2024, during his Senate confirmation hearing. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — Six House lawmakers with military backgrounds are demanding answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about his reported plans to fire top generals and flag officers.
“There are valid reasons to remove a general or flag officer, but there must be clear, transparent, and apolitical criteria and processes associated with any such dismissal,” the bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote in a letter to Hegseth on Friday.
The lawmakers include five Democrats — Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, a former Marine Corps officer; Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, a former Air Force officer; Jason Crow of Colorado, a former Army Ranger; Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, a former Navy helicopter pilot, and Jared Golden of Maine, a Marine Corps veteran — as well as Republican Don Bacon of Nebraska, who served as an Air Force officer.
They are asking Hegseth to detail the process by which the general and flag officers are being evaluated for dismissal, how the officers were nominated for review and which elements of an officer’s written record will be reviewed.
Reports have swirled this week that Hegseth is considering firing senior officers who were promoted under former President Joe Biden’s administration and replacing them with nominees that are more aligned with President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Air Force Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the chief of naval operations, are reported to be on the list of potential firings. Brown is the second Black man to serve as chairman and Franchetti is the first woman to hold the highest-ranking officer position in the Navy.
Hegseth has railed against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the Pentagon and suggested in his book, “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” that Franchetti was promoted due to her gender. In a podcast appearance last year, Hegseth also said, “You’ve got to fire the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.”
“Any general that was involved — general, admiral, whatever — that was involved in any of the DEI woke [expletive] has got to go,” he said. “Either you’re in for warfighting, and that’s it. That’s the only litmus test we care about.”
However, Hegseth appeared to soften his tone toward Brown on his first day at the Pentagon in January, patting Brown on the shoulder and telling reporters: “I look forward to working with him.”
Lawmakers said Friday that they recognized the president retains the authority to dismiss commissioned military officers but pointed out that officers swear an oath to the Constitution that is “sacred and apolitical.”
“The general and flag officers of this country are patriots who have dedicated their lives to the defense of the United States,” the lawmakers wrote. “Most, if not all, of the current three- and four-star general and flag officers were general or flag officers under the first Trump administration and all have served honorably under many administrations of both parties.”
An apolitical military is an “essential component of our democracy and our national security,” the lawmakers wrote.
Hegseth at his Senate confirmation hearing in January sidestepped a question on whether he would fire Brown, saying only that “every single senior officer will be reviewed based on meritocracy standards, lethality and commitment to lawful orders they will be given.”
The first to be dismissed was the commandant of the Coast Guard, Adm. Linda Fagan, who was the first female officer to lead a branch of the armed forces. Among the reasons for her removal on the first day of Trump’s second term on Jan. 20 was an “excessive focus on diversity, equity and inclusion,” according to the Department of Homeland Security.
