Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday defended the purge of top-level military officials amid blowback to the Friday night firings.
The firing of the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Gen. CQ Brown Jr., as well as five other top defense officials, has raised alarm from Democrats and former defense officials who say the decision will have a chilling effect on military leadership, which is already bracing for mass firings of civilian employees and sweeping cuts to defense budgets.
In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Hegseth sought to play down the extraordinary move, saying, “There is civilian control of the military. Nothing about this is unprecedented.”
“The president deserves to pick his key national security and military advisory team. There are lots of presidents who’ve made changes from FDR to Eisenhower to H.W. Bush to Barack Obama,” he said, adding, “This is a reflection of the president wanting the right people around him to execute the national security approach we want to take.”
Hegseth said Brown was “not the right man for the moment” and praised venture capitalist and retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, whom President Trump has said he will nominate in Brown’s stead.
“I have a lot of respect for CQ Brown. I got to know him over the course of a month. He’s an honorable man. Not the right man for the moment,” Hegseth said. “And ultimately, the president made that call, and Dan Razin Caine is going to be a fantastic chairman. I look forward to working with him.”
Hegseth said Caine was among the only people who told Trump defeating ISIS could be done in a matter of weeks, which he said Trump appreciated.
“And he will give straightforward advice, as he did to President Trump, on the defeat of ISIS. No one else said it could be done in a matter of weeks. Razin Caine said it could. And guess what? It happened.”
“And the president respects leaders who untie the hands of war fighters in a very dangerous world,” Hegseth continued. “I think Dan Caine is the man to meet the moment.”
Brown’s firing was announced in a Trump Truth Social post Friday evening, while Brown was in Texas visiting troops on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Less than an hour later, Hegseth said in a statement that he is “requesting nominations” for replacements for Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti — the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs — and Air Force Vice Chief Gen. James Slife, revealing that they too would be axed.
Hegseth also said he was looking for new nominations for the Army, Navy and Air Force’s top lawyers, or The Judge Advocates General (TJAG).
Fox News anchor Shannon Bream pressed Hegseth on some of the online backlash, specifically asking about a post from a law professor who said the firings of the lawyers “in some ways” are “even more chilling than firing the four stars.”
“It’s what you do when you’re planning to break the law: You get rid of any lawyers who might try to slow you down,” said the post from Rosa Brooks, a Georgetown Law professor, which Bream read aloud.
Hegseth dismissed concerns over the firings of the TJAGs as “hyperbole.”
“Ultimately, we want lawyers who give sound constitutional advice and don’t exist to attempt to be roadblocks to anything, anything that happens in their spots. What we know about these TJAGs — they’re called TJAGs inside the military — traditionally, they’ve been elected by each other, or chosen by each other, which is exactly how it works, often with the chairman as well,” he said.
“Small group of insulated officers who perpetuate the status quo,” Hegseth continued. “Well, guess what? The status quo hasn’t worked very well at the Pentagon. It’s time for fresh blood.”
