Defense Officials Weigh In on Hegseth Meeting: 'Could Have Been an Email'

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's attempt to rally America's military brass at Quantico Tuesday seems to have fizzled, with many officials left questioning why hundreds of generals were summoned in person—just hours ahead of the government shutdown. "Could have been an email," shrugged one of the multiple defense officials who spoke to Politico anonymously after enduring what many described as a partisan spectacle rather than a strategic briefing. Per the Hill, Hegseth referred to it as "liberation day" for "America's warriors," who, he said, "kill people and break things for a living."

Some sources say the 90-minute event felt similar to a campaign rally, including a speech from President Trump, who encouraged attendees to "just have a good time." As for Hegseth's call for stricter fitness standards, some worried the move that could limit women in combat. Critics, both in and out of uniform, saw the meeting as a distraction that risked shifting the military's focus away from foreign adversaries and toward policing American streets, with Trump floating the idea of new quick reaction forces for potential domestic unrest and Hegseth suggesting the rules of engagement, meant to protect civilians, are "stupid."

Some officials joked about calculating the cost of the event using ChatGPT (one called the event a "total waste of money" that veered dangerously close to a "loyalty test"), while others simply tuned out: "At this point, I am averting my eyes," said one source. Security experts raised eyebrows at the wisdom of assembling so many senior leaders in one place, suggesting the risks outweighed the benefits. "It's an inexcusable strategic risk to concentrate so many leaders … to convey an inane message of little merit," a former senior official said. It's not clear how much the meeting cost, but many of the leaders had to fly in from across the globe, Reuters reports.

story continues below

On Capitol Hill, reactions split sharply along party lines. Democrats blasted the gathering as political theater, with Rep. Pat Ryan labeling Trump's talk of using troops domestically "unprecedented and unconstitutional," while Republicans like Sen. Tommy Tuberville praising it as a "strong" moment.