Hegseth removing Milley’s security detail and clearance

» Hegseth removing Milley’s security detail and clearance


Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is reportedly revoking retired Gen. Mark Milley’s security detail and security clearance.

Hegseth is also considering demoting Milley to a lower rank, with a review board set to analyze whether he took actions to “undermine the chain of command” during President Donald Trump’s first term, Fox News reported.

The Defense Department will also reportedly remove a second portrait of Milley inside the Pentagon, one that honors his service as a former Army chief of staff. The removal will ensure there are no portraits of the general within the Pentagon.

On Jan. 20, the White House ordered the removal of a new Milley Pentagon portrait that was erected just 10 days before.

Milley, the former 20th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2019 to 2023, had an often contentious relationship with Trump and called the president a “fascist to the core.”

Trump has often criticized Milley for the United States’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, which left billions of dollars in military equipment behind and solidified Taliban control of the country. “Mark Milley is a loser who shamed us in Afghanistan and elsewhere!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social in March 2024.

The Trump administration previously removed the security clearances of former national security adviser John Bolton, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and former Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook.

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A senior administration official told Fox News the actions were being taken because “there is a new era of accountability in the Defense Department under President Trump’s leadership — and that’s exactly what the American people expect.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) expressed concern that the revoked security clearances for the officials will result in offensive action against them from Iran and any other official who was involved in the strike against Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani.

“The threat to anyone involved in President Trump’s strike on Qasem Soleimani is persistent. It’s real,” Cotton said in an interview with the outlet. “Iran is committed to vengeance against all of these people.”

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Milley was heavily involved in the strike and was reportedly the most ardent defender of the intelligence leading to the strike.

Former President Joe Biden preemptively protected Milley from any attempt at prosecution from the Trump administration with a pardon before he left office.



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