WASHINGTON, DC - One of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s first duties in his new role was to announce that he was “immediately pulling” former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley’s government-paid security detail and revoking his security clearance, senior administration officials told Fox News Digital.
Milley, who acted in defiance of the Commander in Chief numerous times during Trump’s first term, is also facing a possible investigation by the new Pentagon acting inspector general to determine if Milley should be stripped of at least one star (he retired as a four-star general) based on his actions to “undermine the chain of command” during President Trump’s first term, officials said.
In a follow-up to actions taken last week, a second portrait of Milley located in the Army’s Marshall Corridor on the third floor is being removed from inside the Pentagon. That portrait honors his service as chief of staff of the Army. The first portrait of Milley from when he served as the military’s top officer was removed from the Pentagon last week only hours after President Trump was sworn into office. The removal of the second portrait was expected to take place Wednesday.
The removal of Milley’s security detail follows similar actions taken by Trump against former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Director of National Intelligence John Bolton, and former COVID advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, who all had their taxpayer-paid security details removed. Milley was authorized for personal security details after Iran vowed revenge for the 2020 killing of Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike that year.
Trump’s decision to pull Bolton, Pompeo, and another official’s security details was criticized, albeit gently, by some government officials, including Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who hoped the president would “revisit” his decision.
A senior administration official, who requested anonymity, was asked why the security details were being pulled. The official said, “This is a new area of accountability in the Defense Department under President Trump’s leadership–and that’s exactly what the American people expect.”
Last week, when Trump was asked by a reporter why the details had been pulled back, he said that they shouldn’t expect taxpayer-paid security “for the rest of your life,” noting “there’s risks to everything.” He said those officials could afford to hire their own security.
Milley served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump and Biden from 2019 to 2023. However, under Trump, Milley undermined the commander-in-chief. For example, he allegedly called his Chinese counterpart and told him he would “let him know” if Trump planned to launch a nuclear weapon against the communist nation. Some have suggested that this would seem to border on treason.
In his book “War,” journalist Bob Woodward said Milley told him at a Washington, D.C. reception on March 6, 2023, that he believed Trump was “fascist to the core.” Milley was still serving as Biden’s Joint Chiefs chairman when he made the remark.
Woodward wrote that Milley “shared with me his worries about Trump’s mental stability and control of nuclear weapons” in a previous book.
Trump, who did not know at the time Milley was working to defy him, praised Milley after an ISIS leader was killed in a raid carried out by US Special Ops in Syria in October 2019.
“I want to thank General Mark Milley and our Joint Chiefs of Staff, and I also want to thank your professionals who work in other agencies of the United States government and were critical to the mission’s unbelievable success.”
One of Biden’s last acts as president was to pardon Milley despite his not being under investigation for any crimes.
In 2021, Milley faced criticism for his comments in response to lawmakers' concerns about the military’s focus on critical race theory over warfighting tactics. His remarks, which some saw as divisive, sparked a heated debate within the military community.
“I do think it’s important, actually, for those of us in uniform to be open-minded and be widely read,” Milley said. “And the United States Military Academy is a university. And it is important that we train and we understand–and I want to understand white rage–and I'm white. So, what is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building [the US Capitol] and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America? What caused that? I want to find that out.”
Comments
2025-02-01T20:47-0500 | Comment by: James
I believe a court marshal is in order! This guy is a traitor!