Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) signed a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth urging the Trump administration not to politicize the military by removing generals and flag officers after rumors surfaced that Secretary Hegseth plans to fire officers involved in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
[RELATED: Pete Hegseth Confirmed as Defense Secretary…]
“We cannot tolerate the politicization of the US Military, and I’ll do everything I can to prevent it,” said Rep. Golden on X.
“These officers were confirmed by the Senate & served admirably under presidents of both parties. Our military and all Americans deserve assurances that the most lethal, ethical military the world has ever known will continue to perform its duties without regard for politics,” Golden added in another post.
The letter acknowledged that, as President, Trump has the absolute constitutional right to dismiss military officers but warned against dismissing them for political reasons.
Golden and the five other signatories requested that the administration answer a series of questions detailing how, and on whose recommendation, he will determine who to dismiss.
The authors also want Hegseth to explain the grounds on which he will dismiss an officer and the process for providing that dismissal to the officer so that the service members will be able to dispute their dismissal if the reasons for it are factually inaccurate.
Signatories include Golden, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebr.), and Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.).
The letter came after CNN, citing two anonymous sources familiar with the matter, claimed that Hegseth plans to fire more than six high-ranking generals and admirals, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown.
Hegseth has previously called for Gen. Brown’s removal, along with any other generals involved in the “woke” DEI programs.
DEI replaces merit with traits such as race, sex, or sexual orientation, arguing that some people are inherently privileged and others inherently victims based on those traits. It typically considers perceived victimhood over merit when offering benefits, in this case, military positions of power.
Sorry, if they were DEI hires then get rid of them. If they were qualified they would not need DEI and no people with a mental illness should be in the military.
I’ve got news for you Jared Golden .
DEI is a political movement begun by Barack Obama and accelerated by Joseph Biden .
It’s a democrat party political movement .
Diversity
Equity
Inclusion
have no place in the military.
Neither did Admiral Rachel Levine .
How many Queer officers were there in the Corp ?
Zero !
Biden fired military (and others) for not taking an experimental shot, so there’s that….
Does Maine have anyone in DC that actually represents us?
America demands physically and mentally healthy warfighters representing our military branches. The serious business of our national security must have zero tolerance for drug, alcohol and sex addictions. DISTRACTIONS !
I don’t care what Golden thinks on this or any issue since he was elected using RCV which is cheating.
Golden asks that Hegseth not politicize the military, as if the introduction of preferential treatment was not a perfect example of doing just that. Should we also assume Golden finds it acceptable for active-duty officers to sign endorsements for presidential candidates? I don’t recall him speaking out against such practices. During my combat experience, I learned that there are fewer human bonds more powerful than those between comrades-in-arms, and any policy that would undermine equality in the interest of preference could only work to the detriment of morale, mutual respect and warrior comportment.
Compare Golden’s response with that of Cardinal Mercier, Primate of Belgium, who during WWII also spoke out against misplaced emphases in military conduct at that time: “When prudence is everywhere, courage is nowhere.”