Hundreds of the military’s top commanding generals and admirals, ranked one-star and above, along with their senior enlisted leaders were ordered to attend by Hegseth last week.
The orders provided no reason for the event and initially raised concern among attendees and military officials that he was gathering the group to inform them of mass firings or demotions.
Last week, the Post first reported that Hegseth was ordering all of the generals in command positions to Quantico to hear him speak for less than an hour about military standards and his vision for a “warrior ethos”.
The now expanded visit from the President could change that schedule - and add a more politicised tenor to the gathering.
“It’s the mother of all photo ops,” said Eugene Fidell, a military law expert at Yale Law School.
The potential for the event to be politicised, and add to the politicisation of the military, “is tremendously concerning and should be tremendously concerning to the American people”.
It is estimated that the cost of flying, lodging and transporting all of the military leaders - some of whom will be travelling from the Middle East, Europe and the Indo-Pacific - will be in the millions of dollars.
The event has also raised security concerns about having all the top leadership in one place, particularly given that it is the end of the financial year, and if the government shuts down, it could leave key personnel stranded from their units.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the President’s travel for the speech.
Hegseth has committed to reducing the general officer corps by 20% and has fired without cause roughly two dozen senior officers - a disproportionate number of them female general or flag officers - since he was sworn in.
Hegseth is seriously considering reducing the rank of the top commanding generals at several top posts from four to three stars and proposing a significant consolidation of the combatant commands.
They are major regional headquarters focused on areas such as Africa, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.
All of those moves come as the Administration’s new national defence strategy is expected to significantly shift attention and resources away from preparing for a conflict with China to sharply focus on homeland defence and military use at home.
Trump in a weekend Truth Social post called for the Pentagon to send troops to what he deemed “War ravaged” Portland, Oregon, authorising them to use “Full Force” to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement sites that have drawn sporadic protesters.
The order was not clear as to whether he intended to send troops under federal control or activate troops under state control, but any deployment could be challenged in court.
Oregon Governor Tina Kotek (Democrat) said she doesn’t believe Trump has the authority to deploy federal troops on state soil and is working with the attorney-general on a potential response.
Trump’s deployment order also comes just days after he signed an executive order directing the nation’s law enforcement and military capabilities to be used against “domestic terrorism and organised political violence”, an edict that gives the Administration sweeping powers to investigate and prosecute a broad array of political opponents.
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