GOP senators are not happy with Hegseth

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Defense & National Security Newsletter GOP senators are not happy with Hegseth by Ellen Mitchell - 10/05/26 6:03 PM ET Link copied by Ellen Mitchell - 10/05/26 6:03 PM ET Link copied NOW PLAYING Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Defense and National Security newsletter Subscribe Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon} Defense & National Security Defense & National Security The Big Story GOP senators are not happy with Hegseth Senior Republican senators say they were blindsided by a plan to reduce by 20 percent the U.S. military’s general and admirals, announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth last week. © AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein Senior Republicans on Capitol Hill are questioning whether too many experienced and highly qualified generals and admirals are being pushed out and what impact it might have on military readiness in the future. They’re also voicing concerns about the lack of consultation with Congress and the possibility that qualified senior officers were sacked for political or ideological reasons. “I wouldn’t have made that a priority if I had been asked,” said Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who said he was only informed of the 20 percent reduction shortly before it was announced. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), meanwhile, said the sudden and large reduction of generals and admirals raises questions and concerns. Collins said she didn’t get advanced notice of the steep reduction in military leadership ranks, reiterating her argument that “our system for promoting officers has always been an example of one of the greatest meritocracies that we have.” My colleague Alexander Bolton spoke to these Republican lawmakers and others who say Hegseth’s failure to consult with them is part a broader, troubling trend of making big decisions with little or no input from key members of Congress — or even without giving lawmakers sufficient advanced notice. Read the full report at thehill.com. Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I’m Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads How policy will affect defense and national security now and in the future: Trump says he will ‘certainly look at’ establishing US military base in Lithuania President Trump said Monday he will “certainly look at” establishing a U.S. military base in Lithuania a week after the country’s prime minister said he would welcome U.S. service members into the Baltic state. “They’re friends of mine; they’re great people, so we’ll certainly look at it. They are great people,” the president said when asked by a reporter about the country’s invitation. “I know so many people in … Full Story Kelly: Hegseth’s firings of top generals, admirals damage ‘our readiness’ Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s ouster of top generals and admirals from the U.S. military are “damaging our readiness,” according to Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a retired astronaut and Navy captain. A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Kelly said Hegseth’s intended 20 percent reduction of the top of the ranks — announced last week — would only hurt national security. “When you hurt readiness, it means that all … Full Story 4 killed in military strike on alleged drug boat in Caribbean The U.S. military blew up another alleged drug-trafficking go-fast boat in the Caribbean on Sunday, killing four “narco-terrorists,” the U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) announced. Southcom said the vessel was operating along “established narco-trafficking routes” in the Caribbean and confirmed intelligence “revealed the vessel’s active involvement in narco-trafficking.” This is the military’s first boat … Full Story Pentagon pulls B-1 bombers from UK base following alleged terror threat The Pentagon pulled all 12 B-1 bombers this weekend from the U.K.’s RAF Fairford air base to their home stations in the U.S. weeks after an alleged terror threat against a U.S.-operated post in England. “While operational security precluded us from confirming the movement of our assets and forces in real-time, we can acknowledge now that all U.S. bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have re-deployed to their home … Full Story In Other News Branch out with a different read from The Hill: FBI arrests California woman accused of spying on Taiwan leader’s family for China LOS ANGELES (AP) — The FBI arrested a California real estate agent as she prepared to fly to China, accusing her of secretly working for Beijing to surveil the president of Taiwan’s family in the U.S., federal officials said. The case comes at a fraught moment for U.S.-China relations, with … Full Story On Tap Tomorrow Events in and around the defense world: The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will discuss Three Years After October 7th: Costs and Consequences,” at 9:30 a.m. The Arab Gulf States Institute will hold a conversation on “Is the U.S.-Iran Stalemate a ‘New Normal’ or the Prelude to Another Explosion?” at 10 a.m. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy will host a talk on “How to End Lebanon’s Cycle of War and Build a Sovereign State,” at 12 p.m. The Foreign Policy Research Institute will have a briefing on “Iran rebuilds its missile arsenal: An open source assessment,” at 12 p.m. The Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies will discuss “Is modernization the key to sustainment?” at 4 p.m. What We’re Reading News we’ve flagged from other outlets: Pentagon officials’ heated debates foreshadowed problems in Iran, The Washington Post reports Musk-led war commission triggers alarms in Pentagon, Politico reports War is forcing the world to reckon with geography’s power, The New York Times reports Trending Today Two key stories on The Hill right now: Trump calls for media outlets to be ‘arrested’ over rally coverage President Trump said Monday that reporters from The New York Times and other media outlets should be “arrested” over their coverage of his Saturday … Read more Senate Republican on Trump posting Cotton’s number: ‘From 0 to a‑‑hole in about 3 seconds’ Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) weighed in Sunday after President Trump posted Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-Ark.) phone number online amid a dispute over permanent … Read more Opinions in The Hill Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill: What Hegseth needs is a new ‘Project Solarium’ If America wants to prosper, we must lead Kaliningrad is just Putin’s red herring You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow! Add as preferred source on Google Tags Pete Hegseth Susan Collins Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 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