Hegseth Decrees That Nominees For Four-Star General Positions Must All First Meet With His Glorious Leader

The New York Times reports:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has begun requiring that nominees for four-star-general positions meet with President Trump before their nominations are finalized, in a departure from past practice, said three current and former U.S. officials. The president has long had a fixation with the military. During his first term, Mr. Trump chose three military generals for top civilian roles in his administration; he repeatedly referred to the Pentagon’s military leaders as “my generals.”

Mr. Trump has excoriated some former officers, such as the retired Gen. Mark A. Milley. After Mr. Trump chose General Milley to be his chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he repeatedly accused him of disloyalty and later suggested that he had committed “treason” and that the punishment should be execution. Last month, Mr. Trump delivered a highly partisan speech at Fort Bragg, N.C., ruthlessly attacking his political foes. Mr. Trump’s broadsides drew both raucous laughter and boos from the uniformed military troops in attendance.

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All four-star general nominees must now interview with President Trump. The goal is to “ensure they are war fighters first — not bureaucrats,” says the WH.
Some fear it could politicize the general officer corps.
w/ @maggieNYT https://t.co/SFsnpg7xi5

— Greg Jaffe (@GregJaffe) July 29, 2025