Top Generals Nominated for New Positions Must Now Meet With Trump

The move is a departure from past practice and has raised worries that it could lead to the politicization of the military’s top ranks.

Some Pentagon officials said the requirement that four-star nominees meet with President Trump, initiated at Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s request, had slowed down the promotion process.

By Greg Jaffe and Maggie Haberman
The New York Times, July 29, 2025

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has begun requiring that nominees for four-star-general positions meet with President Trump before their nominations are finalized, in a departure from past practice, said three current and former U.S. officials.

The move, though within Mr. Trump’s remit as commander in chief, has raised worries about the possible politicization of the military’s top ranks by a president who has regularly flouted norms intended to insulate the military from partisan disputes.

The president has long had a fixation with the military. During his first term, Mr. Trump chose three military generals for top civilian roles in his administration; he repeatedly referred to the Pentagon’s military leaders as “my generals.”

Over the last four years, Mr. Trump has excoriated some former officers, such as the retired Gen. Mark A. Milley. After Mr. Trump chose General Milley to be his chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he repeatedly accused him of disloyalty and later suggested that he had committed “treason” and that the punishment should be execution.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/us/politics/generals-trump.html