Hundreds of admirals and generals flew to Virginia from postings around the globe to hear from President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in person on Tuesday. Some lawmakers think the meeting could have been an email.
“I have yet to learn of anything productive happening in that gargantuan meeting,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democratic member of the Armed Services Committee, told NOTUS on Tuesday. “It’s more theatrical performance and spectacle than real policy.”
And Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, slammed Hegseth for organizing the meeting at all.
“He billed the taxpayers millions to fly every general to Washington to hear this weirdo drivel,” Murphy wrote on Tuesday in response to Hegseth’s comments during the meeting that service members shouldn’t have beards or long hair because “we don’t have a military full of Nordic pagans.”
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Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat, was also mystified. He told reporters he didn’t understand how the speeches were “worth pulling generals and admirals from around the world.”
“What I have heard, just from other reporters asking me, is that Trump made some announcement about invading a variety of cities,” Coons said.
Trump discussed using U.S. cities as “training grounds” for the National Guard.
“We’re under invasion from within,” the president said of immigration and crime in American cities. “No different than a foreign enemy, but more difficult in many ways because they don’t wear uniforms.”
Hegseth, meanwhile, complained about liberal policies and said he would get rid of “dudes in dresses” in the armed forces. He also emphasized the importance of strict physical-health and strength standards.
“It’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” Hegseth told the room.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and Iraq War veteran, on X described the meeting as a “deeply degrading, wasteful and dangerous stunt,” adding that “the best thing Hegseth can do to strengthen our military is resign in disgrace.”
Republican senators, on the other hand, praised Hegseth’s message, saying they believe in-person meetings are valuable.
“I thought it was a good message,” Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said. “There’s going to be critics no matter what he does.”
And Sen. Rick Scott of Florida told NOTUS he believed the meeting was worth the security risks that naturally come with gathering hundreds of military leaders under one roof.
“I ran large companies, and every so often we brought all of our leadership team together so we are all on one page,” Scott said. “The benefit of it is people have somebody they can talk to about their issues.”
An email or teleconference is “not the same as talking to somebody in person,” he argued.
Meetings like these are rare, and in-person gatherings between top military officials are usually much smaller. At least one Republican said beforehand that he hoped it would be worthwhile.
“These people are all over the world,” Sen. Thom Tillis, another Armed Services member, told reporters Monday night. “So hopefully it’s something meaningful that really requires their physical presence.”
A spokesperson for Tillis didn’t answer when asked after the speeches on Tuesday if the senator thought they were sufficiently meaningful.
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