WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week reportedly ordered hundreds of U.S. military generals and admirals worldwide to report to a Marine Corps base in Virginia next week, for no clear reason and with next to no notice, per a Washington Post report Thursday.
A Defense Department spokesperson confirmed to HuffPost that Hegseth is convening top military leaders next week, but wouldn’t give any more details on what’s going on.
“The Secretary of War will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week,” chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement, using Trump’s new nickname for the defense secretary.
The bizarre directive was delivered earlier this week to virtually all of the U.S. military’s top commanders around the world, the Post reported, which translates to about 800 generals and admirals. And it comes months after Hegseth directed a 20% cut to top military leadership posts to free the military from “unnecessary bureaucratic layers.”
Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the chair and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, respectively, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nor did Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) and Adam Smith (D-Wash.), the chair and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, respectively.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Defense Department employee told HuffPost on Thursday that nobody in their division at DOD headquarters was talking about this coming meeting. This employee, who requested anonymity to speak freely, said they asked an aide to a high-level military leader about it.
“First he’d heard of it,” said this employee.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.