From Foreign Affairs · Peter D. Feaver · · 4m
Congress must reclaim control of the military
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reshaped the armed forces with minimal congressional oversight. The incoming Congress can reverse course and restore civil-military norms.
In brief
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reshaped the armed forces with minimal congressional oversight. The incoming Congress can reverse course and restore civil-military norms. Congress has ceded its constitutional powers over the military to the executive branch. The new session starting in January can reassert…
Congress has ceded its power
Article I of the Constitution gives Congress sweeping powers to raise, maintain, and equip the armed forces. The current Congress has done little to use these powers over the past two years.
Hegseth reshapes the officer corps
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was sworn in as defense secretary in two thousand twenty-five with strong views on military change. He has fired or removed nearly two dozen senior general and flag officers.
Massive purge of top ranks
Hegseth has gotten rid of more than one quarter of all four star generals, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the chiefs of the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Navy.
Disproportionate impact on minorities
Hegseth has fired, removed, or pulled from promotion lists approximately eighty general and flag officers. A disproportionate number of whom are women or racial minorities.
Vague justifications for removals
Hegseth has justified those removals in the vaguest of terms. Most observers believe the real reason amounts to little more than these officers followed the lawful orders of the previous administration.
Bypassing traditional procedures
Hegseth has moved quickly, largely ignoring traditional bureaucratic practices, including rigorous staff reviews and close involvement of congressional stakeholders in changing Pentagon policymaking.
Legal advisers fired amid operations
Hegseth fired senior military legal advisers amid questions about the legality of boat strikes against suspected drug traffickers and civilian casualties in America's war with Iran.
JAG Corps weakened since Vietnam
By demoting senior legal advisers and selecting less qualified personnel, the military's legal voice is more marginalized today than it has been since the Vietnam War and the My Lai massacre.
Chilling effect on military advice
Hegseth's actions have created an environment in which the military is reluctant to offer candid advice or uphold professional standards when they conflict with administration priorities.
Congress has enabled the changes
The real secret to Hegseth's success has been the unwillingness of the current Congress to exercise its Article I responsibilities or defend its traditional prerogatives over defense policy.
Congress must demand transparency
Congress should exercise its ability to scrutinize defense policymaking, much of which has been shrouded in secrecy. The current Congress has held very few oversight hearings on military personnel policy.
Restore merit-based promotions
Congress should mandate that the defense secretary provide written explanations supported by documented evidence for any off cycle removals of senior officers and restore merit based selection processes.
Protect military nonpartisanship
Congress has a responsibility to police the principle that the uniformed military must stay away from partisan politics. Each time Hegseth attacks the Biden administration before military audiences, he degrades the nonpartisan ethic.
Congress must reclaim defense policy
Congress should reclaim its role in making defense policy rather than only providing oversight. If Congress wants to provide legal justification for use of force in Iran or against drug traffickers, it should do so.
Clarify the Insurrection Act
Congress should amend the Insurrection Act to clarify and restrict the domestic use of military force. The president must retain the ability to respond to true national emergencies but criteria should be narrowed.
Avoid partisan military battles
Congress must strenuously avoid involving the military in partisan war. Members should not press the military to criticize the president or defense secretary in made for social media outrage hearings.
Create a blue ribbon commission
Congress should establish a nonpartisan commission co chaired by three respected individuals to analyze problems and recommend solutions for the state of the professional military ethic.
The new Congress can reverse course
The next Congress starting in January can make a clean break and rediscover its ability to carry out functions necessary to improve civil military relations before damage becomes irreversible.
The essence
Congress has ceded its constitutional powers over the military to the executive branch. The new session starting in January can reassert oversight and restore professional norms before damage becomes irreversible.
