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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Robert Tait in Washington

‘This is just disarray’: alarm inside Pentagon after Hegseth staff purges

Donald Trump Pete Hegseth Pentagon United States Dan Caine CQ Brown Paul Eaton Kevin Carroll Lisa Franchetti Randy George
Man testifies at hearing
Pete Hegseth testifies before the Senate armed services committee on Thursday. Photograph: Cliff Owen/AP

Since Donald Trump’s first term, they have been viewed comfortingly as the “adults in the room,” a last line of defense against the impulsive whims of a president with access to the nuclear codes.

Now – after an unprecedented wave of firings that has been compared by some to Stalin’s purges – the Pentagon top brass no longer seem like such a reliable bulwark.

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