Background: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth talking on Fox News Sunday on Feb. 23, 2025 (Fox News/YouTube). Inset: President-elect Donald Trump on “Meet the Press” Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024 (NBC News/YouTube).
The Trump administration is sacking a trio of top military lawyers — with multiple firings coming down Friday — because it doesn’t want them to be “roadblocks to anything that happens” over the next four years, according to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
“We want lawyers who give sound constitutional advice,” Hegseth told Shannon Bream on Fox News Sunday in response to the firings of three judge advocates general aka “JAGs” for the Army, Navy and Air Force. “And don’t exist to attempt to be roadblocks to anything that happens in their spots.”
Hegseth, who was confirmed in late January after being nominated by President Donald Trump to lead the Pentagon, was asked about the terminations by Bream and whether he believed firing three star military officers was an appropriate thing to do after the move sparked criticism from legal experts and lawmakers. Bream brought up an X post, specifically, from Georgetown Law professor Rosa Brooks, which said: “In some ways that’s even more chilling than firing the four stars. It’s what you do when you’re planning to break the law: you get rid of any lawyers who might try to slow you down.”
In response, Hegseth gave his “roadblocks” answer and said: “I don’t know who Rosa is or what her hyperbole is all about. … What we know about these TJAGS, they’re called TJAGS inside the military, traditionally they’ve been elected by each other or chosen by each other, which is exactly how it works with the chairman as well. Small group of insulated officers who perpetuate the status quo. Well guess what? The status quo hasn’t worked very well at the Pentagon.”
WATCH: @SecDef Hegseth discusses sweeping changes at the Pentagon, including a major shakeup among top generals. pic.twitter.com/JrUrD9nsDi
— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) February 23, 2025
The Judge Advocate General’s Corps provides “full-spectrum legal services” for the military that help enable operations and support national defense, according to online descriptions by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army. “JAG Corps is a government law organization that defends the Army and its Soldiers in all military legal matters,” the Army website says. “It’s one of the country’s largest law firms, providing important legal advice to senior Army officials.”
In addition to firing top military lawyers, Trump’s administration also fired Joint Chiefs Chairman General CQ Brown and other senior officials. According to Hegseth, the Defense Department is currently “requesting nominations” for individuals to replace the judge advocates general in a “merit-based” process.
“It’s time for fresh blood,” he said Sunday.
More from Law&Crime: ‘Slipping into the clutches of an authoritarian’: Trump’s potential defiance of Supreme Court could lead to a full-blown constitutional crisis
Trump’s second term has been filled with countless firings at his hands, which have sparked lawsuits and judicial showdowns.
A judge in Washington, D.C., handed the Trump administration a win on Thursday by allowing the government to move forward with plans to get rid of a vast number of federal employees.
The move came from U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, a Barack Obama appointee, who determined that he likely lacked the jurisdiction to hear the complaints of five labor unions who took legal action against Trump over the terminations of nonessential workers and probationary employees, as well as the implementation of the “deferred resignation program.”
Trump’s Justice Department asked the Supreme Court last week to sign off on repeated attempts that he’s made to boot Biden ethics enforcer Hampton Dellinger from his post at the Office of Special Counsel after his administration was swatted down by multiple judges. On Friday, SCOTUS ruled that it was siding against Trump and postponing the firing of Dellinger while his termination continues to be weighed by a lower court.
Trump’s DOJ and Dellinger are due in district court on Feb. 26 for their preliminary injunction hearing.
Colin Kalmbacher contributed to this report.
