Written by Phil Stewart and Idrez Ali
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Members of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team will be targeted for layoffs, potentially including the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in what could be an unprecedented shake-up for the Pentagon. Two sources said that the list is being compiled.
Sources familiar with the Trump transition, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the plan, said the removal plan was in the early stages after Trump’s Nov. 5 election victory, and the Trump He said that this may change as it is launched.
One of the sources questioned the feasibility of mass firing on the Pentagon.
It is unclear whether Mr. Trump himself would support the plan, but he has lashed out at defense leaders who have criticized him in the past. Trump also made the remarks during a campaign to remove “woke” generals and those responsible for the country’s difficult 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
A second source said the incoming administration is likely to focus on U.S. military officers believed to have ties to Trump’s former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley.
Millie was quoted in Bob’s book ‘War’ woodward (NASDAQ:), published last month, called Trump a “deep-rooted fascist” and targeted Trump’s allies for perceived disloyalty to the former president.
“Everyone promoted and appointed by Milley will be gone,” a second source said.
“We have a detailed list of everyone who was associated with Millie, and they will all be gone.”
The Joint Chiefs of Staff includes the highest-ranking officers in the U.S. military and is made up of the heads of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, National Guard, and Space Force.
The announcement of plans to fire senior military leaders came a day after President Trump selected Pete Hegseth, a Fox News commentator and military veteran who has expressed interest in cleaning up the Pentagon, as secretary of defense.
In his 2024 book War with the Warrior: What’s Behind the Scenes, Hegseth writes, “The next U.S. president will overhaul the senior leadership of the Department of Defense to ensure it is ready to protect our country and defeat our enemies.” “We need to lay off a lot of people.” Betrayal of those who set us free. ”
It’s unclear whether Mr. Hegseth’s lack of managerial experience could complicate Senate confirmation, or whether more traditional alternatives to the post would carry out such a drastic removal.
General Brown was among the first to be dismissed.
Hegseth also took aim at Milley’s successor, Air Force Gen. Brown, asking if he would have taken the job if he were not black.
“Was it because of the color of his skin? Or was it because of his skills? We’ll never know, but we always suspect. At first glance, it seems unfair to CQ. has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, so it’s not “very important,” he wrote.
A person familiar with the transition plan said Mr. Brown would be one of a number of executives retiring.
“The entire chairman and deputy commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be fired immediately,” the official said, noting that the plan is still in its early stages.
Some current and former U.S. officials have dismissed the possibility of such major reforms as unnecessary and destructive at a time of global turmoil, with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East. Some people take it lightly.
The first source said it would be bureaucratically difficult to fire and replace a large number of senior U.S. military officials and warned that the plan could be a blunt and aggressive move by President Trump’s allies. suggested.
But a second source suggested the Trump campaign believes it is necessary to downsize the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which appears to be overburdened.
An organization the size of the U.S. military would be able to withstand such cuts, officials said.
“These people aren’t irreplaceable. They’re very replaceable. And the other thing is, there’s no shortage of people to step up,” the source said.
“In World War II, we were rapidly appointing people in their 30s and talented people who could become generals. And you know what? We won the war.”
