Hegseth: Fired military lawyers were potential 'roadblocks' to Trump orders

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that the three fired judge advocates general (JAGs) were potential “roadblocks” to President Trump’s orders.

"It's not about roadblocks to an agenda,” Hegseth told reporters when asked how the military lawyers present roadblocks.

“It's roadblocks to orders that are given by a commander in chief,” he said.

The JAGs’ job is to provide independent legal guidance to senior military officers in the Pentagon and on battlefields to avoid potential legal issues with U.S. or international laws surrounding armed conflict.

“Ultimately, I want the best possible lawyers in each service to provide the best possible recommendations, no matter what, to lawful orders that are given,” Hegseth said. “And we didn't think those particular positions were well-suited, and so we're looking for the best.”

“We're opening it up to everybody to be able to be the top lawyer of those services,” Hegseth added.

The firings of the top lawyers at the Army, Air Force and Navy came amid a Friday night purge of top Pentagon officials.

Trump earlier announced he was firing the country’s top military officer, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. CQ Brown Jr.

Hegseth shortly thereafter announced he was looking for replacements for Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti and Air Force Vice Chief Gen. James Slife.

Hegseth did not name the military officers in his statement announcing he was looking for nominations for their replacement, and senior Pentagon officials told The New York Times that Hegseth had no contact with any of the three fired uniform military lawyers since he assumed his post.

The Pentagon purge has provoked some backlash. One Georgetown Law professor posted on the social platform X that the firings of the lawyers “in some ways” are “even more chilling than firing the four stars.”

“It’s what you do when you’re planning to break the law: You get rid of any lawyers who might try to slow you down,” Rosa Brooks wrote in the post.

Fox News anchor Shannon Bream asked Hegseth about the backlash in an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” specifically asking him to respond to Brooks’s post, which Hegseth dismissed as “hyperbole.”

“Ultimately, we want lawyers who give sound constitutional advice and don’t exist to attempt to be roadblocks to anything, anything that happens in their spots. What we know about these TJAGs — they’re called TJAGs inside the military — traditionally, they’ve been elected by each other, or chosen by each other, which is exactly how it works, often with the chairman as well,” he said.

“Small group of insulated officers who perpetuate the status quo,” Hegseth continued. “Well, guess what? The status quo hasn’t worked very well at the Pentagon. It’s time for fresh blood.”

Updated at 8:30 p.m. EDT

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