Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) urged Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in a Saturday letter to ensure transparency at Tuesday’s meeting with top military leaders.
The Washington Post reported the gathering will draw hundreds of generals and admirals, with President Trump confirming he will attend at Quantico.
In their letter, Armed Services Committee members Duckworth and Hirono warned that the meeting “raises profound concerns about security, cost, and operational impacts,” jeopardizing both attendees’ safety and national security. Reports indicate that Hegseth plans to promote the “warrior ethos” he has been advocating at the Pentagon.
“For an administration obsessed with rooting out waste, this abrupt, time and resource-intensive meeting of our military’s top commanders, all of whom have earned their positions through superior performance over decades of service, to reportedly hear you, the least qualified Secretary of Defense in living memory, lecture about military standards and warfighting is absurd,” the letter states.
The letter also seeks details on the gathering’s logistics, including flight hours, commercial tickets, hotel rooms, and added security costs, as well as how those expenses are being tracked. It questions why a virtual option wasn’t used and whether the Pentagon considered the security risks of concentrating so much of the command structure in one place.
The meeting has reportedly caused confusion among military officials due to the scant details provided by the Pentagon and the lack of a declared crisis. The letter urges Hegseth to “justify the urgency” and clarify whether the president ordered the meeting or was informed only after it was reported.
BREAKING: Hegseth orders hundreds of military commanders to report for unprecedented meeting
