Trump, in another break from the norm, interviews 4-star general
candidates
[July 31, 2025]
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE
WASHINGTON
(AP) — In a break with past practice, President Donald Trump now meets
with candidates for promotion to the rank of four-star general, the
White House has acknowledged.
The Republican president has the meetings because he wants to make sure
the U.S. military retains its superiority and its leaders focus on
fighting wars, a White House spokesperson said.
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President Donald Trump, right, is escorted by Air Force 89th Air Wing
Deputy Commander Melissa Dombrock, left, as he walks from Air Force One
before boarding Marine One, upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md.,
Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez) |
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“President Trump wants to ensure our military is the greatest
and most lethal fighting force in history, which is why he meets
with four-star-general nominees directly to ensure they are war
fighters first — not bureaucrats,” assistant press secretary
Anna Kelly said.
The meetings, however, are a departure from past practice, and
knowledge of them has raised concerns about politicization of
the military's top ranks. Trump has not always respected the
long-standing tradition of walling off the military from
partisan politics.
In June, Trump took the rare step of mobilizing the National
Guard and then the Marines, sending hundreds of them into Los
Angeles over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a
Democrat with whom the president has feuded politically.
Trump followed up with a campaign-style rally at Fort Bragg in
North Carolina, where uniformed soldiers cheered as he
criticized former President Joe Biden, Newsom and other
Democrats — raising concerns that Trump was using the military
as a political prop.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., an Army veteran and member of the
Senate Armed Services Committee, called the meetings “very
welcome reform.”
“I’ve long advocated for presidents to meet with 4-star
nominees. President Trump’s most important responsibility is
commander-in-chief,” Cotton wrote in a post on X. “The
military-service chiefs and combatant commanders are hugely
consequential jobs” and “I commend President Trump and Secretary
Hegseth for treating these jobs with the seriousness they
deserve.”
The New York Times, which first reported on the practice, said
it had been initiated by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
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