Hegseth pulls Mark Milley's security clearance and protective detail

▶ Follow live updates on President Donald Trump’s return to Washington WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is pulling security protections and clearance for Gen. Mark Milley, retired Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, and has ordered the Pentagon’s inspector general to review Milley’s actions while serving as the nation’s top uniformed officer to determine if a demotion is warranted. The inspector general review will include “an inquiry into the facts and circumstances surrounding Gen. Milley’s conduct so that the Secretary may determine whether it is appropriate to reopen his military grade review determination,” Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot said late Tuesday. AP AUDIO: Defense secretary pulls Trump critic Gen. Milley’s security clearance and protective detail AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports a frequent critic of President Trump is facing scrutiny at the Pentagon. Hegseth said in an interview Wednesday with Fox News that the pardon was “something President Biden was in his purview to do, just like in our purview at the Defense Department we have the opportunity to review things he may have done inside the chain of command while Trump was president that undermined those authorities.” Biden pardoned Milley in the last days of his presidency, which Milley thanked him for, saying, “I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights.” Hegseth’s chief of staff, Joe Kasper, said the decision to strip Milley of his clearance and security detail was taken because “undermining the chain of command is corrosive to our national security, and restoring accountability is a priority for the Defense Department under President Trump’s leadership.” Milley had security protections after Trump in his first term ordered a 2020 military strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani.