Washington Merry-Go-Round

IMMEDIATE RELEASE 25 September 2025
WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND
Today’s Events in Historical Perspective
America’s Longest-Running Column, Founded 1932
An ominous gathering of flag officers
By Douglas Cohn and Eleanor Clift         
 
WASHINGTON – Hundreds of generals and admirals and their top deputies have been summoned to a meeting on Tuesday at Quantico, the Marine base in Virginia, and nobody seems to know why. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is now Secretary of War, thanks to a name change ordered by President Trump, and maybe his new title has something to do with this most unusual order.
There has been nothing like this before when so many flag officers convened at once.
The one thing we can say with certainty is that it feels ominous. It signals change, and in Trump world, that means purging personnel of anyone who is not fully on board with Trump and his MAGA movement.
The Pentagon was spared from the reductions in force that marked Trump’s first months in office when DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency spearheaded by Elon Musk, cut thousands of public service jobs. Trump’s disregard for government workers is evident, and it is possible that Hegseth is now preparing to take on what he regards as bloat in the leadership ranks of the military.
Earlier this year, Hegseth ordered a 20 percent reduction in the number of four-star generals and admirals, saying in a video posted to X that “more generals and admirals does not equal more success.”
Trump, himself, has not been fixated on the number of generals and admirals. He just wants to be certain they are his generals and admirals because the foremost attribute for Trump when assessing people is their loyalty to him. Therefore, the most rational reason for this highly unusual gathering is the opportunity it presents for Trump and Hegseth to judge who is a Trump loyalist, and who is not, and who gets to remain in their command assignments, and who gets the boot.
Call it a “vetting session,” a scenario which would be very much in character for Trump, who chose his secretary of defense, now war, based on watching him as a weekend anchor with Fox News.
A second possible scenario is the opportunity for Trump to put on a charm offensive and assess how well it works. Officers take an oath to the Constitution, not to the president, but Trump will be on alert, looking for signals to let him know who is with him.
A third scenario, or motive for the unusual gathering, would be to reinforce Hegseth, who is widely seen as not up to the job and the captive of his inner circle. He does not command the “building” is the commonly voiced opinion of the military establishment.
Lastly, there is generational change. If next week’s meeting is principally a vetting session, it is also a chance to install younger loyalists in key positions. Trump and Trumpism will fare better over the long run if generals and admirals close to retirement, having served 30 or so years to get where they are, are replaced by younger officers. It is just like the Supreme Court, where the three Trump-appointed justices are young enough to have decades of service ahead.
Perhaps Trump and Hegseth have all the above in mind as they turn their attention to reshaping the military for the challenges ahead. If it turns out to be all about personal loyalty to Trump, we should not be surprised. Never has one president pushed ahead so forcefully in our democracy to accumulate so much power unto himself.
“Seven Days in May,” the 1964 political thriller, was about a military cabal to stop the president from negotiating a disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union. What is happening now may be the reverse, “One Day in September,” when Trump attempts to co-opt the military and turn it into some sort of gigantic Praetorian Guard. He does not fully trust the military establishment, most likely because the feeling is mutual.
 
See Eleanor Clift’s book Selecting a President, and Douglas Cohn’s latest books The President’s First Year: The Only School for Presidents Is the Presidency and World War 4: Nine Scenarios (endorsed by seven flag officers).
Twitter:  @douglas_cohn
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END WASHINGTON MERRY-GO-ROUND