{"id":639,"date":"2026-06-27T14:11:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T14:11:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639"},"modified":"2026-06-27T14:11:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T14:11:31","slug":"hegseth-escalates-his-military-purge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639","title":{"rendered":"Hegseth escalates his military purge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Secretary of Defense<\/span> Pete Hegseth\u2019s <\/span>purge of the United States military<\/span> continues to escalate, even as he and President Donald Trump attempt to buy its loyalty.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more The best graphic memoirs of the year (so far) offer hope and humanity<\/a><\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the Army announced that Gen. Christopher T. Donahue \u2014 commanding general of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, and commander of NATO\u2019s Allied Land Command \u2014 will <\/span>step down<\/span> in July after only 18 months in the job.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As one of the<\/span> Army\u2019s most respected officers<\/span>, Donahue\u2019s removal is especially striking given the administration\u2019s <\/span>pivot away<\/span> from NATO and Europe. He joins a<\/span> growing roster of distinguished officers<\/span> who have been pushed out or denied promotion for partisan or personal reasons, and\/or because they are <\/span>Black, brown or a woman<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Critics have warned this purge is weakening the military precisely when it faces potential conflict with China, and after its <\/span>limitations were exposed<\/span> by the Iran war. But Hegseth\u2019s moves are also central to America\u2019s democracy crisis.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Right-wing media turns to Supreme Court after democratic socialist wave<\/a><\/p>\n

Historically, America\u2019s military has been apolitical by design, and is loyal to the Constitution and the American people \u2014 not to a president or any other politician. But as a personalist leader, Trump sees himself as the State, and believes that the military must be transformed into extensions of his personal will and power.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As the purge continues, the administration is simultaneously seeking a record $1.5 trillion defense budget for 2027, which represents an approximately 40% single-year increase \u2014 and one of the largest in American history. This tactic is <\/span>straight from the authoritarian playbook<\/span>: Rid the military of independent officers, and then ensure its allegiance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Haitians in Springfield meet legal status fears with unity<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NATO’s top American general is out \u2014 while Donald Trump tries to buy the military’s loyalty<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[930,4,5,430,931,932,431,44],"class_list":["post-639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-christopher-donahue","tag-commentary","tag-donald-trump","tag-military","tag-military-budget","tag-nato","tag-pentagon","tag-pete-hegseth"],"yoast_head":"\nHegseth escalates his military purge - Relocation Across America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hegseth escalates his military purge - Relocation Across America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"NATO's top American general is out \u2014 while Donald Trump tries to buy the military's loyalty\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Relocation Across America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-27T14:11:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=639#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=639\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba2572fa1a7a241291fdc36bdae80fcf\"},\"headline\":\"Hegseth escalates his military purge\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-27T14:11:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=639\"},\"wordCount\":305,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=639#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8850e8bbeda2edb295653309c4ffd47a.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Christopher Donahue\",\"Commentary\",\"Donald Trump\",\"Military\",\"Military Budget\",\"NATO\",\"Pentagon\",\"Pete Hegseth\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=639#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=639\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=639\",\"name\":\"Hegseth escalates his military purge - Relocation Across America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=639#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=639#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8850e8bbeda2edb295653309c4ffd47a.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-27T14:11:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba2572fa1a7a241291fdc36bdae80fcf\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=639#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=639\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=639#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8850e8bbeda2edb295653309c4ffd47a.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/8850e8bbeda2edb295653309c4ffd47a.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":683,\"caption\":\"ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - SEPTEMBER 22: U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stands at attention during an advanced honor cordon for Canadian National Defense Minister David McGuinty at the Pentagon on September 22, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. McGuinty is visiting the Pentagon for the first time since being appointed Defense Minister of Canada. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker\\\/Getty Images)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?p=639#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hegseth escalates his military purge\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Relocation Across America\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ba2572fa1a7a241291fdc36bdae80fcf\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/relocationacrossamerica.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hegseth escalates his military purge - Relocation Across America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hegseth escalates his military purge - Relocation Across America","og_description":"NATO's top American general is out \u2014 while Donald Trump tries to buy the military's loyalty","og_url":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639","og_site_name":"Relocation Across America","article_published_time":"2026-06-27T14:11:31+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ba2572fa1a7a241291fdc36bdae80fcf"},"headline":"Hegseth escalates his military purge","datePublished":"2026-06-27T14:11:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639"},"wordCount":305,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8850e8bbeda2edb295653309c4ffd47a.jpg","keywords":["Christopher Donahue","Commentary","Donald Trump","Military","Military Budget","NATO","Pentagon","Pete Hegseth"],"articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639","url":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639","name":"Hegseth escalates his military purge - Relocation Across America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8850e8bbeda2edb295653309c4ffd47a.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-27T14:11:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ba2572fa1a7a241291fdc36bdae80fcf"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8850e8bbeda2edb295653309c4ffd47a.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8850e8bbeda2edb295653309c4ffd47a.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"caption":"ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - SEPTEMBER 22: U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stands at attention during an advanced honor cordon for Canadian National Defense Minister David McGuinty at the Pentagon on September 22, 2025 in Arlington, Virginia. McGuinty is visiting the Pentagon for the first time since being appointed Defense Minister of Canada. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?p=639#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hegseth escalates his military purge"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/","name":"Relocation Across America","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ba2572fa1a7a241291fdc36bdae80fcf","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com"],"url":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/relocationacrossamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}