Five former defense secretaries issued a poignant letter after President Donald Trump fired the chairman on Thursday, and President Staff Trump and other senior officers.
In an open letter issued Thursday, former defense secretaries James Mattis, Leon Panetta, Lloyd Austin, Chuck Hagel and William Perry urged Congress to hold an immediate hearing on the recent shootings of General CQ Brown and several other senior military leaders.
They said the senator should “refuse to confirm” new DOD nominations in response to the shooting.
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Five former defense secretaries criticized President Donald Trump in a letter for firing his co-headed and other senior military officer chairs. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
In the letter, they argued that Trump’s actions “weak the power of all our volunteers and our national security,” and they accused the president of trying to turn non-political US troops into instruments of partisan politics and to turn it into a firing that expands to naval and air force lawyers in order to do so.
James Matisse, the defense secretary except one, served under the Democratic administration.
When Trump said “I can’t believe I said it,” he was asked if he still thinks Zelenkie is a dictator.
Trump announced the shooting late Friday, but his administration has yet to clarify why it caused the unprecedented shakeup.
All but one of the former defense secretaries who wrote the letter to President Trump worked under the Democratic administration. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)
Air Force General CQ Brown was the second black officer to become co-chief chair, and was not in the middle of his four-year term when he was let go.
“Trump’s firing raises troubling questions about the administration’s desire to politicize the military,” they wrote. “We are going to conclude that, like many Americans, including many military forces, these leaders are fired for purely partisan reasons.”
Fox News Digital has contacted the White House for comment on the letter.
The former defense secretary called on Congress to hold a hearing to “assess the national security impact” of Trump’s firing. Republicans make up a majority in both rooms.
CQ Brown’s co-chief chairman didn’t even enter his four-year term under the Trump administration. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
The letter warned that actions in the pentagon could prevent Americans from choosing to live in the military if their careers were judged through the lens of partisan politics. It could also have a calm effect on speaking “the truth about power,” they warned.
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“We are writing to urge the US Congress to explain these reckless actions and urge Trump to fully exercise his responsibility for constitutional oversight,” they write.
Liz Friden and Reuters of Fox News contributed to this report.
Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital Breaking Reporter that covers crime, political issues and more.
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