Sen. Jack Reed claims Trump and Hegseth are politicizing the military
The article discusses the alarming onset of significant decline in the military and the increasing involvement of political motives within its ranks, as emphasized by his statement: "It's the beginning of a very, very serious degradation of the military and politicization of the military."
TroibNews 
The ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee expressed strong criticism on Sunday regarding President Donald Trump's reasons for dismissing top Defense officials.
During an appearance on ABC's "This Week," Sen. Jack Reed indicated that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were trying to "politicize the Department of Defense" by terminating senior military leaders on Friday night, including Chair of the Joint Chiefs Gen. C.Q. Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti, and Air Force Vice Chief Gen. James Slife.
Reed remarked, "It's the beginning of a very, very serious degradation of the military and politicization of the military."
He highlighted the professionalism of the dismissed military leaders, stating, "These men and women were superb professionals. They were committed to their oath to defend the Constitution of the United States."
Additionally, Reed raised alarms about the removal of the judge advocates general for the Army, Navy, and Air Force, suggesting, "If you're going to break the law, the first thing you do is you get rid of the lawyers."
Conversely, Hegseth defended the firings on "Fox News Sunday," asserting, "There is civilian control of the military. Nothing about this is unprecedented." He added, "The president deserves to pick his key national security and military advisory team."
Typically, appointees on the Joint Chiefs serve their full term even when a new president is inaugurated. Noteworthy examples include Gen. Omar Bradley, Gen. Earle Wheeler, Gen. Colin Powell, Adm. Michael Mullen, and the most recent, Gen. Mark Milley, who served across different presidential administrations.
In his discussion with host Martha Raddatz, Reed was vocal about Trump's recent actions that appeared to align with the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin concerning the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He stated, "This is not a statesman or a diplomat. This is just someone who admires Putin."
Reed emphasized that exerting pressure on Putin would be more effective than offering him praise. "What we have to do is keep the pressure on, and then go into negotiations," he advised. "negotiations that will include the Ukrainians, not exclude them. And then with this pressure, hopefully, Putin will decide that the cost is too great to continue this effort."
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
During an appearance on ABC's "This Week," Sen. Jack Reed indicated that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were trying to "politicize the Department of Defense" by terminating senior military leaders on Friday night, including Chair of the Joint Chiefs Gen. C.Q. Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Lisa Franchetti, and Air Force Vice Chief Gen. James Slife.
Reed remarked, "It's the beginning of a very, very serious degradation of the military and politicization of the military."
He highlighted the professionalism of the dismissed military leaders, stating, "These men and women were superb professionals. They were committed to their oath to defend the Constitution of the United States."
Additionally, Reed raised alarms about the removal of the judge advocates general for the Army, Navy, and Air Force, suggesting, "If you're going to break the law, the first thing you do is you get rid of the lawyers."
Conversely, Hegseth defended the firings on "Fox News Sunday," asserting, "There is civilian control of the military. Nothing about this is unprecedented." He added, "The president deserves to pick his key national security and military advisory team."
Typically, appointees on the Joint Chiefs serve their full term even when a new president is inaugurated. Noteworthy examples include Gen. Omar Bradley, Gen. Earle Wheeler, Gen. Colin Powell, Adm. Michael Mullen, and the most recent, Gen. Mark Milley, who served across different presidential administrations.
In his discussion with host Martha Raddatz, Reed was vocal about Trump's recent actions that appeared to align with the interests of Russian President Vladimir Putin concerning the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He stated, "This is not a statesman or a diplomat. This is just someone who admires Putin."
Reed emphasized that exerting pressure on Putin would be more effective than offering him praise. "What we have to do is keep the pressure on, and then go into negotiations," he advised. "negotiations that will include the Ukrainians, not exclude them. And then with this pressure, hopefully, Putin will decide that the cost is too great to continue this effort."
Sophie Wagner contributed to this report for TROIB News
