Trump Bills Hegseth’s Unusual Meeting With Generals As A Friendly Meet-up

President Donald Trump on Thursday hailed his Defense secretary’s unusual order that hundreds of top officials meet in person next week as a kumbaya moment, even as some defense officials feared it would prove little more than a photo op.

“It’s great when generals and top people want to come to the United States to be with a now-called secretary of War,” Trump said during a signing of executive orders, referring to his new rebrand of the Defense Department.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not said why he wants generals and admirals serving around the globe to show up for a meeting at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, according to three defense officials, who said they and their colleagues were floored by the move.

The sudden meeting has led to frantic travel plans and concerns from some defense officials, who worry about the disruption it will cause to their schedules and the security aspects of having most of the military’s top officers in one place.

“Whatever it is can be communicated through secure emails, phone calls and video links,” said one of the officials, who like others, was granted anonymity to discuss internal decisions.

The other two officials said they didn’t know what to expect from the meeting, which falls on the same day the government will shut down if Congress can’t reach an agreement to fund it. Any shutdown would put a stop to non-urgent travel.

The second official wondered if the event was largely an opportunity for Hegseth and Trump to generate appealing visuals of themselves speaking in front of a room of generals and admirals.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed that Hegseth “will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week,” but did not add further details.

The Washington Post first reported on the planned meeting.

The Pentagon’s policy office recently wrapped up two hotly anticipated reviews, the National Defense Strategy and Global Posture Review which are expected to be released next month. But there is no indication yet that Hegseth is using this opportunity to brief the assembled officers on their findings.

POLITICO has reported that the strategy will shift the military's focus from deterring China to the Western Hemisphere and within the United States. The posture review will likely call for troop reductions in Europe and elsewhere.

The Pentagon has also been working to consolidate global commands as a way to cut four and three-star generals and reduce headquarters. Hegseth has said the moves will reduce bureaucratic bloat and limit overall costs.

Trump outlined the meeting as more of a meet-and-greet than a deep dive into generational changes within the department.

“We're selling the equipment to others, other countries, and a lot of generals want to be here,” he said. “And they want to look at the — they're also going to be touring equipment sites. They're going to be talking about the newest weapons, etc.”

Jack Detsch contributed to this report.