Trump's inner circle plans big changes for Pentagon's top brass after victory
Trumpʼs transition team prepares list of military leaders for removal after his November election win. Pete Hegsethʼs defense secretary pick signals major shake-up in Pentagonʼs future leadership structure
In early-Nov 2024‚ Donald Trumpʼs transition team started work on a major Pentagon clean-up plan thats targeting top military brass (including plans to remove Joint Chiefs of Staff members)
The post-election shake-up focuses on officers linked to former chairman Mark Milley‚ whose comments in a recently-published book called “War“ sparked controversy. The book quoted Milleyʼs harsh words about Trump:
Trump is fascist to the core
Pete Hegseth‚ Trumps pick for defense secretary position; brings his own ideas for Pentagon re-organization. His book “The War on Warriors“ published this year points to needed changes in military leadership
The plans target current Joint Chiefs chairman General C.Q. Brown and other top-level officials. Current and ex-officials raise doubts about such wide-ranging changes during active conflicts in mid-east and ukraine. However‚ Trumpʼs team believes the militarys top structure needs down-sizing
One transition team member compares the situation to WW2: when younger officers got quick promotions based on skill. They argue that todays military can handle leadership turn-over just like back then - pointing out that many thirty-something generals helped win that war
The clean-up plans include:
- Removing all Joint Chiefs members
- Firing vice chiefs of each branch
- Getting rid of Milley-connected officers
- Re-structuring top command positions
While some view these plans as early-stage ideas that might change Trumpʼs team seems determined to move forward with their military leadership make-over
