Garamendi Statement on Trump and Secretary Hegseth’s Wasteful Military Meeting

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman John Garamendi (CA-08), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee and Ranking Member of the Readiness Subcommittee, released the following statement after President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's unprecedented and unnecessary meeting with the military's top leadership:

"In all my years of public service and throughout my time in Congress, I have never seen such a wasteful, pointless, and blatantly partisan display as what Trump and Hegseth staged today.

"To put it in perspective, meetings like this have almost never taken place with this many senior military leaders in one place at one time. There is no strategic or practical need to have the top commanders all in one room.

"It is now clear that in requiring this unprecedented meeting, Trump and Hegseth summoned all of the nation's top military commanders from around the globe for nothing more than another Trump campaign rally.

"As a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, I have worked with many of these generals and admirals. They are exceptional, dedicated, hard-working individuals who have been diverted from the critical functions that they perform in their command responsibilities around the world.

"The taxpayer cost of pulling these leaders from active-duty worldwide is enormous, the national security risks are grave, and for what? To hear Trump incoherently ramble and for Hegseth to lecture our senior military leaders about working out more. A slap in the face to our non-partisan military leaders who swore an oath to the Constitution, not wannabe kings.

"President Trump's suggestion that we use American cities as training grounds for the U.S. military is just another example of his dangerous rhetoric and willingness to use the world's strongest military against its own people.

"This is not the conduct of a serious president or a serious Secretary of Defense. It was a meaningless spectacle that undermined readiness, wasted taxpayer dollars, and disrespected our armed forces.

"Hegseth should resign immediately."

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