During his campaign, #Trump vowed to purge the military of so-called "woke" generals. Now that he is president-elect, the question in the halls of the #Pentagon is whether he would go much further.
Trump is expected to have a far darker view of his #military leaders in his 2nd term, after facing Pentagon resistance over everything from his skepticism toward #NATO to his readiness to deploy troops to quell protests on #US streets.
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •#Trump's former #US generals & #defense secretaries are among his fiercest critics, some branding him a #fascist & declaring him #unfit for office. Angered, Trump has suggested that his former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, #MarkMilley, could be executed for treason.
Current & former U.S. officials say Trump will prioritize #loyalty in his second term & root out #military officers & career #civil servants he perceives to be disloyal.
#NationalSecurity
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •"He will destroy the Department of #Defense, frankly. He will go in & he will dismiss generals who stand up for the #Constitution," said Jack Reed, the #Democrat who leads the #Senate #ArmedServices Cmte.
Culture war issues could be one trigger for firings. #Trump was asked by FoxNews in June whether he would fire generals described as "woke," a term for those focused on #RacialJustice & #SocialJustice but which is used by *#conservatives* to disparage #progressive policies.
#NationalSecurity
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •"I would fire them. You can't have (a) woke military," #Trump said.
Some current & fmr ofcls fear Trump's team could target the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General C.Q. Brown, a widely respected fmr fighter pilot & #military commander who steers clear of #politics.
#NationalSecurity
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •The 4-star general, who is Black, issued a video message about #discrimination in the ranks in the days after the May 2020 murder of #GeorgeFloyd by a police officer in Minneapolis, & has been a voice in favor of #diversity in the #US #military.
…#Trump's vice president-elect, #JDVance, voted as a senator last year against confirming Brown to become the top U.S. military officer, & has been a critic of perceived resistance to Trump's orders within the #Pentagon.
#NationalSecurity
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •"If the people in your own government aren't obeying you, you have got to get rid of them & replace them with people who are responsive to what the president's trying to do," #JDVance said in an interview w/ Tucker Carlson before the election.
During the campaign, #Trump pledged to restore the name of a #Confederate general to a major #US #military base, reversing a change made after #GeorgeFloyd's killing.
#NationalSecurity #Racism #WhiteSupremacy
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •During the campaign #Trump took aim at #transgender troops. Trump has previously banned transgender #ServiceMembers & posted a campaign ad on X portraying them as weak, w/the vow that "WE WILL NOT HAVE A WOKE MILITARY!"
Trump has suggested the #US #military could play an important role in many of his policy priorities, from tapping #NationalGuard & possibly active-duty troops to help carry out a #MassDeportation of undocumented #immigrants to even deploying them to address #domestic unrest.
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Such proposals alarm #military experts, who say deploying the #military on American streets could not only violate #laws but turn much of the American population against the still widely respected #US armed forces.
In a message to the forces after #Trump's election win, outgoing #Defense Secretary #LloydAustin acknowledged the results of the election & stressed the military would obey "all lawful orders" from its civilian leaders.
#NationalSecurity
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •But some experts caution that #Trump has wide latitude to interpret the #law & US troops cannot disobey legal orders they consider to be morally wrong.
"There is a widespread public misperception that the military can choose not to obey #immoral orders. And that's actually not true," said Kori Schake of the *#conservative* American Enterprise Institute.
Schake warned that a 2nd Trump term could see high-level firings as he pushes ahead with controversial policies.
#NationalSecurity
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •One US #military ofcl downplayed such concerns, saying…that creating chaos within the #US military's chain of command would create political backlash & be unnecessary for Trump to accomplish his goals.
"…military officers are generally focused on warfighting & not politics," the ofcl said.
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •Career #CivilServants at the #Pentagon could be subjected to #loyalty tests, current & fmr ofcls say. #Trump allies have publicly embraced using executive orders & rule changes to replace thousands of civil servants with *#conservative* allies.
A senior US #defense ofcl, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters there was increasing concern within the Pentagon that Trump would purge career civilian employees from the department.
#NationalSecurity
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •"I'm deeply concerned about their ranks," the ofcl said, adding that several colleagues had expressed concern about the future of their jobs.
Career #CivilServants are among the nearly 950k non-uniformed employees who work within the US #military & in many cases have years of specialized experience.
#Trump vowed during the campaign to give himself the power to gut the federal workforce across the government.
#NationalSecurity
Nonilex
in reply to Nonilex • • •During his first admin, some of #Trump's controversial suggestions to advisers, such as potentially firing #missiles into #Mexico to destroy drug labs, never became policy in part because of pushback from ofcls at the #Pentagon.
"This will be 2016 on steroids & the fear is that he will hollow out the ranks & expertise in a way that will do irreparable damage to the Pentagon," the official said.
#NationalSecurity #US #military #defense