Sources have revealed that members of President-elect Donald Trump‘s transition team are preparing a list of senior military officers, including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to be fired upon his inauguration.
The move, still in its nascent form, is expected to target people who have been perceived to be allies of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, who has been a contentious figure within Trump’s camp for a long time.
The incoming administration is preparing to rapidly remove several high-ranking officials associated with Milley, whose tenure as the U.S. military’s top officer was marked by open disagreements with the former president, according to two sources familiar with the transition process who spoke anonymously.
A report has claimed another source confirmed a full list of personnel attached to Milley was already being drawn up that will be considered for replacement with new leadership more akin to Trump’s vision.
“There is a highly detailed list of everybody who was affiliated with Milley. And they will all be gone,” said one source. The list purportedly comprises key figures within the Joint Chiefs of Staff, highest ranking in charge of the US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, National Guard and Space Force.
As a plan in its infancy, there have been concerns over the practicability of such a draconian cleansing, more so with the upheaval that this action would cause to military operations amidst global tensions, especially the war in Ukraine and the Middle East instability. Critics argue that such drastic measures would eventually compromise the military’s effectiveness at such a time when cohesion and experience are crucial.
This announcement comes after reports that Trump has chosen Fox News pundit Pete Hegseth as defence secretary. Hegseth is infamous for his open calls for reform in the Pentagon, having publicly advocated in the past for a “radical overhaul” of the top echelons, leading many to believe that the majority of those inside are out of service.
In his 2024 book, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free, Hegseth wrote, “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.”
More currently, however, sources report that the president’s team has set its sights on removing from his military posts officers thought to be loyal to Milley, who was in the crosshairs of allies of the former president when he was quoted in a recently published book, War, by Bob Woodward as describing Trump as “fascist to the core.”
This apparently turned the jackals loose, calling for vengeance against the general and others deemed disloyal.
Those officers reportedly in the crosshairs include Air Force General C.Q. Brown, the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who had also been one of Trump’s victims of criticism by some of his allies.
At the time, Pete Hegseth questioned whether the appointment of Brown was on merit or because of race and harassed his potential qualifications, pointing more to the politically charged aspect of the military leadership in the first place.
Some current and former US officials have brushed aside the report of the mass shakeup, saying it is political and administratively implausible for the military, that is already facing numerous global issues, to undertake. Still, the Trump team appears untouched, said one source, and such changes are necessary to curb what they feel is bureaucratic overreach within the military.
“They are very replaceable,” said the second source, arguing that, like during World War II, there is no shortage of competent individuals ready to step into leadership roles. “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.”
This caused a stir in much discussion as to what the scale and timeline of such firings might mean for the future of U.S. military leadership. Now, with an impending second term for the Trump administration, the overhaul of the Pentagon will be at the very top of the agenda for the incoming president and his team.