By WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley that he is revoking his security detail and clearance and ordering a review of his conduct to see whether his rank should be re-evaluated, the Defense Department said.
Hegseth, whose first day at the Pentagon was Monday, directed the Defense Department’s inspector general to look into “the facts and circumstances” surrounding Milley’s conduct “so that the Secretary may determine whether it is appropriate to reopen his military grade review determination,” Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot said.
The statement did not provide specific reasons for the moves. Defense Department chief of staff Joe Kasper said, “Undermining the chain of command is corrosive to our national security, and restoring accountability is a priority for the Defense Department under President Trump’s leadership.”
Milley, a retired Army general, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Milley was chairman of the Joint Chiefs under both former President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump during his first term, and he was at odds with Trump over various issues.
In 2020, Milley apologized for accompanying Trump to a photo-op in front of a church by the White House after Trump ordered the violent removal of protesters demonstrating over the death of George Floyd.
Toward the end of Trump’s first term, Milley called the head of China’s military, Gen. Li Zuocheng, and assured him the United States had no plans to enter into military conflict with China after the United States received intelligence that Chinese officials thought it was going to attack their country.
Milley also played a key role during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under Biden, although he and other military leaders later said they had recommended to Biden that he keep a small contingent of troops in the country past the deadline to pull out.
Milley was included in the slew of pre-emptive pardons Biden issued hours before Trump’s inauguration last week, which was intended to protect him from political retaliation during the new Trump administration, Biden said.
Last week, a portrait of Milley was suddenly removed from the walls of the Pentagon; officials couldn’t say what was behind its being taken down. A portrait of him as Army chief of staff was also taken down Tuesday night, and the holes where it was affixed to the wall had been covered and painted over.
