Hegseth, Trump summon military brass for loyalty test, say US cities to be “training grounds” for military – National & International News – TUE 30Sep2025
Hegseth, Trump summon military brass for loyalty test, say US cities to be “training grounds” for military.
Federal government headed for shutdown at midnight tonight.
Hegseth, Trump summon military brass for loyalty test, say US cities to be “training grounds” for military
Last week, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth summoned top military officers from all over the world to attend a meeting in Quantico, VA. Such a meeting has not been called since before World War II and the Pentagon was unusually tight-lipped about what the purpose of the meeting was. The meeting took place today and both Hegseth and Trump addressed the brass.
Hegseth outlined his policy to end “wokeness” and “political correctness” in the military, which he claims has compromised America’s “war fighters”. He called for a “gender-neutral” standard for combat fitness which he said should be “the highest male standard”. He also touted the administration’s efforts to dismantle “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) standards throughout the government, including the Pentagon.
Another plank in Hegseth’s anti-wokeness platform was reviewing standards designed to prevent “hazing” in the military, which has led to suicides and sexual harassment. Hegseth said military leaders found to have fomented a toxic environment that leads to hazing and poor morale should not have to fear for their career prospects. “People make honest mistakes,” Hegseth said, “and our mistakes should not define an entire career”.
Rules of engagement and war crimes
Hegset also railed against rules of engagement which he claims ties the hands of troops in combat. Rules of engagement in combat settings are typically aimed at protecting civilians, preventing abuses, and restraining soldiers from taking actions in the field (including war crimes) that could provoke a response that would put servicemembers in danger. Hegseth called these rules “stupid”.
“We untie the hands of our war fighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill the enemies of our country,” Hegseth said. “No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement, just common sense, maximum lethality and authority for war fighters”.
Hegseth was previously instrumental in securing pardons for members of the military convicted of war crimes during the first Trump administration. Since becoming secretary, he has already moved to make standards for charging troops with war crimes more lenient.
Hegseth told the 800 assembled generals, admirals and other officers that if they disagreed with his policies, then they should “do the honorable thing and resign”.
Trump advocates US cities as “training grounds” targeting “enemy within”
Trump opened his remarks by encouraging the largely stonefaced audience of military officers to applaud as they wished. He added, “If you don’t like what I’m saying, you can leave the room — of course, there goes your rank, there goes your future”.
In an hour-long and at times rambling campaign-style speech, Trump echoed many of Hegseth’s talking points about wokeness and military’s lethality. Trump also said he expected the military to take on a larger role in tackling domestic unrest, referring to those protesting his policies in cities across the country as “the enemy within“. “This is going to be a big thing for the people in this room,” Trump said, “because it’s the enemy from within, and we have to handle it before it gets out of control”.
Trump also said that “we should use some of these dangerous cities as training grounds for our military“. Trump has already deployed military force to Los Angeles, CA, and Washington, DC. This weekend, he ordered National Guard troops to counter protests against his immigration policies in Portland, OR, authorizing them to use “full force” if necessary. Soon to be added to this list are Chicago, IL, and Memphis, TN.
Last week, Trump signed National Security Presidential Memorandum 7 (NSPM 7) as part of his broader crackdown against his domestic ideological foes. NSPM 7 is a law enforcement directive. It requires federal, state, and local agencies to “disrupt” any groups or individuals in “anonymous chat forums, in-person meetings, social media, and even educational institutions” whose rhetoric may “foment” political violence before any such violence takes place.
Federal government headed for shutdown at midnight tonight
After an apparently unproductive White House meeting between Trump and Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders, the federal government is headed for a shutdown at midnight tonight. Senate Republicans have called several last-ditch votes to try to persuade Senate Democrats to allow a temporary federal funding measure to pass. The Senate adjourned without passing a bill, making a shutdown inevitable.
Funding measures of this type, called continuing resolutions, require 60 votes to clear the Senate. Democrats in Congress are using this rare bit of leverage to push their own CR that includes provisions like reversing $1 trillion in unpopular Medicaid cuts in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” from earlier this summer. Democrats also want to renew federal subsidies for Obamacare (Affordable Care Act – ACA), set to expire at the end of this year. If those subsidies are not renewed, premiums for insurance plans purchased through ACA will rise sharply.
Who’s losing the blame game?
Trump has tried to give the appearance of welcoming a shutdown in hopes that Democrats would back down. For example, Trump has touted the shutdown as an opportunity to impose “irreversible” medical benefit cuts as well as mass federal layoffs. Last week, he scheduled a meeting with Democratic leadership to break the impasse before abruptly canceling it. Today’s last-ditch meeting may indicate he is less eager for a shutdown than he would like Democrats to think.
Republicans in Congress may also be worried, although they have so far refused to negotiate with their Democratic colleagues. Despite the administration’s best efforts to blame the Democrats, polls show that Americans place the lion’s share of the blame on Republicans – who after all control the White House and both chambers of Congress.
The last government shutdown happened during Trump’s first administration and lasted 35 days, starting just before Christmas 2018. Republicans may worry that a lengthy shutdown would impact some of their policy priorities. For example, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will be required to keep working throughout a shutdown, but like most federal workers, they will not be paid. This could affect morale among ICE agents, which is already pretty low, and likely impact ongoing ICE recruitment efforts.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (SC) suggested that there might be some flexibility on the Republican side to bring the imminent shutdown to an end fairly quickly. He said Republicans would not reverse any provisions in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill, but added that “there are probably some things we could do to get Democratic votes that would be good for the country.”
When asked if Congress was beginning negotiations, Graham answered, “I think it will resolve itself next week, when the House gets back”.
Related:
Unions representing federal workers call on Democrats to stand firm on funding demands, even though the shutdown may leave many of them fighting to keep their jobs.
What would be the effects of a government shutdown?
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