Retired general says Trump Pentagon firings 'extremely destabilizing'
Retired Gen. George Casey said Sunday that recent Pentagon firings by President Trump are “extremely destabilizing” to the military.
“That’s extremely destabilizing at — at a time that’s a lot going on domestically and a lot going on abroad,” Casey told ABC News’s Martha Raddatz on “This Week.”
“When you remove so many senior leaders, especially without justifying … [and] giving due cause, it creates huge uncertainty in the ranks. And it just isn’t a good thing for the military at a very difficult time,” Casey added.
Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr., the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was fired Friday alongside five other senior defense officials and top military lawyers.
The move prompted anger and alarm from Democrats and former national security leaders, who advised it marked a risky polarization of the military during a time of major geopolitical unrest.
“Donald Trump’s quest for power is endangering our military,” Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote in an opinion piece for The Washington Post.
“The implications for our national security cannot be overstated. A clear message is being sent to military leaders: Failure to demonstrate personal and political loyalty to Trump could result in retribution, even after decades of honorable service,” Reed said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the ousting of the military officials Sunday.
“There is civilian control of the military. Nothing about this is unprecedented,” Hegseth said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“The president deserves to pick his key national security and military advisory team. There are lots of presidents who’ve made changes, from FDR to Eisenhower to H.W. Bush to Barack Obama,” he added.
“This is a reflection of the president wanting the right people around him to execute the national security approach we want to take.”
In Casey’s appearance on “This Week,” the retired general said the move to fire the military officials “should be better explained.”
“It should be better explained. And — and again, I honestly don’t think it was necessary because if they [want to] change the direction, they can change the policies and not the people,” Casey continued.
The Hill has reached out to the Department of Defense and the White House for comment.
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