On Friday morning, Group Chat participants on CNN This Morning were rounded up to criticize President Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s military authority. This came after Hegseth made a rare move to summon all top U.S. military leadership to Virginia next week.
Sabrina Singh, a former Deputy Press Secretary at the Pentagon under Biden — CNN leaves out the Biden/Democrat part — accused the Republicans of politics: “These are officers that have served, some upwards of 30 years in the military, under different Presidents, both Democratic and Republican. […] They don’t serve at the pleasure of one person.”
All U.S. service members swear an oath to the U.S. Constitution. But the Constitution places them under the authority of the Commander-in-Chief, which is the President. And so long as the President doesn’t direct any of them to violate the Constitution and federal law, they are obliged to obey.
Singh kept singing, “And I think what Pete Hegseth is doing, and Donald Trump, is these loyalty tests […] it certainly puts the military in a political position where we never should be in that position. Our military is supposed to be apolitical.”
This might not be happening if the executive branch and military officials didn’t have a history of subverting presidential authority during Trump’s first term. While using the military for political means would be wrong, ensuring the military members themselves don’t act in a partisan way contrary to Constitutional authority is not wrong.
Singh couldn’t fathom the possibility of experienced military members getting fired: “And so Hegseth’s comments, whether it was testifying in front of Congress to what he’s doing next week, it’s hollowing out our military ranks. And frankly, you’re purging people that have, not only decades of service, but strength and wisdom that they bring to the table that, frankly, he doesn’t have.”
Cornish didn’t bring up Biden purging Trump appointments to military adviser boards four years ago. Surely CNN favored that.
Host Audie Cornish piled on: “They’re questioning that wisdom, right? They’re saying, like, “Your priorities have been wrong the last couple of years, the way” — especially the fallout from Afghanistan, right? Some of this is a response to that.
Whether or not next week’s meeting is a giant purge in anticipation of a government shutdown or a preparation for large-scale conflict, the Trump administration is looking for uniformity across the armed forces. If they are, in fact, cutting off fat, then the machine will be leaner.
Vox podcast host Noel King gave the most frivolous and conspiratorial contribution to the discussion:
And I think he loves drama. And I think this meeting is Pete Hegseth loving drama. Like, I got texts yesterday after this news broke and it was, like, “Are we going to war? Are we going to war?” Like, some of this stuff I don’t think your normie American cares about James Comey. But your normie American hears, like, “All the generals are coming to D.C.” And it’s, like, “What is happening? Is a war starting?”
The exact reason for the unexpected summoning is still unknown by almost everyone. “It’s panic. And I don’t know why we would want the Secretary of Defense to panic the American people.”
Like, no way. There is unquestionably a legitimate reason to summon all of the U.S. military’s top officials to one location. And while Hegseth holding his cards close to his chest may be unsettling for many, that alone isn’t reason enough to cause “panic.” But, in all fairness, this came right after Putin’s aggressive wartime posturing and provocations towards NATO members. Time will tell.
The transcript is below. Click “expand” read:
CNN This Morning
September 26, 2025
6:37:21 a.m. Eastern
(…)
AUDIE CORNISH: Can we talk about, sort of, his position on this? Because obviously critics are like, “You’re getting rid of checks and balances.”
ROB BLUEY: Well, sure. I mean, I think that personnel is policy, as we all know in Washington, D.C., and Pete Hegseth wants to make sure that those generals are aligned. I don’t have any insights into what the meeting will take — what will happen on Tuesday. But I am fairly confident that, based on the messages that Pete Hegseth has sent since taking the job, he wants to make sure that the people that report to him are fully aware of what his expectations are of them. And if he’s frustrated with jag officers, or he’s frustrated with general officers, Audie, he —
SABRINA SINGH: These are officers that have served, some upwards of 30 years in the military, under different Presidents, both Democratic and Republican. They’ve served, they’ve led in different fights in Iraq and Afghanistan. These are people who served their country. They don’t serve at the pleasure of one person. And I think what Pete Hegseth is doing, and Donald Trump, is these loyalty tests. And so, who knows what next week meeting really brings. But it certainly puts the military in a political position where we never should be in that position. Our military is supposed to be apolitical.
And so Hegseth’s comments, whether it was testifying in front of Congress to what he’s doing next week, it’s hollowing out our military ranks. And frankly, you’re purging people that have, not only decades of service, but strength and wisdom that they bring to the table that, frankly, he doesn’t have. I mean —
[Crosstalk]
CORNISH: They’re questioning that wisdom, right? They’re saying, like, “Your priorities have been wrong the last couple of years, the way” — especially the fallout from Afghanistan, right? Some of this is a response to that.
NOEL KING: Yeah, like, we’re not winning wars the way we used to. And if we’re not winning wars the way we used to, something must have gone wrong here. Look, I think Hegseth is a true believer. I think he really believes what he’s saying. I think he’s a bit sloppy, maybe very sloppy. And I think he loves drama. And I think this meeting is Pete Hegseth loving drama.
Like, I got texts yesterday after this news broke and it was, like, “Are we going to war? Are we going to war?” Like, some of this stuff I don’t think your normie American cares about James Comey. But your normie American hears, like, “All the generals are coming to D.C.” And it’s, like, “What is happening? Is a war starting?”
SINGH: Yeah, it sends alarms.
KING: It’s panic. And I don’t know why we would want the Secretary of Defense to panic the American people.
(…)
