Kelly is at least as qualified to lead the Pentagon as other recent appointees, and would probably be an easy addition to any future Democratic administration's shopping list for senior defense or national security roles. (He was also short-listed to be Kamala Harris's running mate in 2024.) A Navy pilot, Kelly flew 39 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm. He has a uniform heavy with awards, including medals with the combat "V," a special addition that denotes valor and heroism.
But a pattern is becoming clear: Donald Trump is purging the higher ranks based on his prejudices and demands for loyalty; the military is being turned into a partisan instrument and a political prop; more dangerous still, the president is instilling the logic of impunity that has come to characterize his entire approach to governance. Figures deemed too close to Trump critics, such as general Mark Milley, have seen promotions delayed or canceled; those targeted by far-right influencers might face professional backlash.
The American military is not supposed to intervene in domestic politics. This is the long-standing norm governing U.S. civil-military relations. The Constitution asserts civilian control over the military, divided between the executive and legislative branches, as a means of preventing the military from becoming a partisan force of domestic oppression. President Donald Trump has destabilized this arrangement more than any president in recent memory.
The Supreme Court is set to rule for the first time on whether the president has the power to deploy troops in American cities over the objections of local and state officials. A decision could come at any time. And even one-line order siding with Trump would send the message that the president is free to use the military to carry out his orders - and in particular, in Democratic-controlled cities and states.
No dictator or would-be dictator on day one has ever assembled before him in one room the entire senior officer corps of his armed forces in order to have them belittled as failures and humiliated for their slovenly personal appearance, while degrading whole classes serving in the army, navy and air force degraded as inferior and unworthy. No dictator has ever pleaded for generals and admirals to applaud his remarks, followed by deafening silence.
The public has a profound interest in prevent[ing] irreparable injury so as to preserve the court's ability to render a meaningful decision on the merits. Doe #1 v. Trump, 957 F.3d 1050, 1068 (9th Cir. 2020) (quoting Golden Gate Rest. Ass'n v. City & County of San Francisco, 512 F.3d 1112, 1116 (9th Cir. 2008)). Put simply, the issues at stake in this case are important, and the consequences of this Court's decision are far-reaching.
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky An aide to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller recently texted with high-level Trump administration officials about deploying the 82nd Airborne Division to Portland, Oregon, according to The Minneapolis Star Tribune. Images of the texts were taken by a source who then sent them to the Star Tribune. The texts indicated that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth considered deploying the legendary division within the U.S. The publication reported that Anthony Salisbury, who is a Miller deputy, communicated with other Trump officials last weekend via the app Signal in a conspicuous manner:
President Donald Trump on Tuesday proposed using American cities as training grounds for the armed forces and spoke of needing U.S. military might to combat what he called the "invasion from within." Addressing an audience of military brass abruptly summoned to Virginia, Trump outlined a muscular and at times norm-shattering view of the military's role in domestic affairs. He was joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who declared an end to "woke" culture.
The president spoke in a wheezy, sleepy tone for more than an hour, on a stage clearly meant to resemble the movie Patton. His prepared remarks were full of dictatorlike complaints about "the enemy within," and justifications for using the military to police U.S. cities. But it was hard to track the major themes, as there were so many long, self-aggrandizing ad-libs.
