Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to announce the immediate revocation of retired Gen. Mark Milley’s personal security detail and security clearance, multiple senior administration officials told Fox News. Additionally, Hegseth has directed the new acting Inspector General to convene a review board to assess whether sufficient evidence exists to strip Milley of a star in retirement due to his alleged actions to “undermine the chain of command” during President Donald Trump’s first term, officials said.
The Pentagon is also moving to remove a second portrait of Milley, currently displayed in the Army’s Marshall Corridor on the third floor, which honors his service as Chief of Staff of the Army. Fox News reported exclusively that this removal could take place as soon as Tuesday evening, meaning there will no longer be any portraits of Milley inside the Pentagon.
The first portrait of Gen. Mark Milley, which honored his tenure as the U.S. military’s top officer, was removed from the Pentagon on Inauguration Day—less than two hours after President Trump was sworn into office. The now-retired Milley, along with other former senior Trump administration officials, had been assigned personal security details following Iran’s vow of revenge for the 2020 drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani—an operation ordered by Trump during his first term.
On Fox News Sunday, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton expressed hope that Trump would “revisit” the decision to revoke protective security details for former officials John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, and Brian Hook, all of whom served in key roles during Trump’s first term. Asked why these actions were being taken, a senior administration official who requested anonymity replied, “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.”
Perhaps at issue is a pair of phone calls Milley secretly made to his Chinese counterpart in the waning days of the first Trump administration. According to Reuters, “Milley called General Li Zuocheng of the People’s Liberation Army on Oct. 30, 2020 – four days before the election – and again on Jan. 8, two days after Trump supporters” were involved in the riot at the U.S. Capitol Building — both without the rightful commander-in-chief’s knowledge or permission, according to his own congressional testimony.
“He allegedly told the Chinese general that the ‘American government is stable’ and reassured Gen Li that the US would not attack. If they did so, the Chinese would be warned first,” the BBC added, which Trump described after learning about the calls in the Bob Woodward book, “War,” as straight-up treason. He also called reports that he was “unstable” after his election loss and that he had considered a nuclear strike on China “fake news.”