Trump Apologizes as Hegseth Purge Leaves Army Rudderless
Trump Apologizes as Hegseth Purge Leaves Army Rudderless
The News
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's firings and feuds have left the U.S. Army "essentially rudderless" as it tries to counter cheap drones and missiles pounding American bases in the Middle East, the New York Times reported Tuesday.
The Army has had no confirmed chief of staff since Hegseth fired Gen. Randy George in a 15-second phone call in April. No replacement has been confirmed, and no confirmation vote is imminent.
President Trump privately distanced himself from the purge, blaming Hegseth for George's firing in a call with a Republican senator and saying, "Tell the general I'm sorry," according to the Times.
Timeline
At least a half-dozen senior officers have been fired or forced out of the Pentagon, according to the Times report.
Hegseth fires Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in a 15-second phone call, without explanation.
Gen. LaNeve has served simultaneously as acting chief of staff and vice chief — two full four-star jobs at once. His confirmation is stalled in part because Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) believed Hegseth had promised George would finish his term.
The Times publishes its account of the purge; Mediaite, Raw Story, AlterNet and Political Wire pick it up the same day.
Reactions
Senior military officers are alarmed. AlterNet, summarizing the reporting, headlined the worry bluntly: that the cost of the purge will be "paid for in blood" — that Americans will pay for the leadership vacuum with lives.
Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY), a former Army intelligence officer, said the shake-up causes "generational damage to the sense that the military is an apolitical trusted organization."
Trump's own posture, per the Times, was to point the finger at his defense secretary rather than defend the decision.
None of the reports in this cluster carry a response from Hegseth or the Pentagon.
What's Next
LaNeve's confirmation remains stalled, and whether Ernst and other Republican senators ultimately back him has not been settled.
Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll is also expected to leave within months, which would add a second senior vacancy at the top of the service.
Whether Trump directed the firings or Hegseth acted on his own remains unconfirmed.
More
The Army's four-star bench has shrunk from 10 generals to 5 — the fewest in decades. NYU law professor Ryan Goodman estimated the purges wiped out more than 900 years of combined military experience.
The vacuum comes as the Army tries to adapt to a new kind of war dominated by cheap, deadly drones, with U.S. bases in the Middle East already under fire.
Coverage of the report so far has come almost entirely from left-leaning and center-left outlets; right-leaning outlets had not weighed in as of publication.
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