US Defence Secretary removes Trump critic General Mark Milley's security detail, clearance

In second full day of his job, Hegseth ordered the department's inspector general to start a probe into Milley's "conduct" to determine whether a review of his rank is needed. The statement does not mention what conduct Hegseth thinks would warrant review of Milley's rank.

Hours after Trump's swearing-in on January 20, the portrait of Milley as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was removed from where it was displayed in the Pentagon. As of Tuesday afternoon, a second portrait of General Milley while he served as US Army's chief of staff was still hanging in the Pentagon, CNN reported.

In 2018, Donald Trump nominated Mark Milley as the top US general. However, the ties between US President and Milley rapidly deteriorated during the closing months of the first Trump administration.

At one point, Milley referred to Trump as "fascist." In his final address at Joint Chiefs chair in 2023, he said that military does not take an oath to a "wannabe dictator." It was an oblique reference to then-former US President, showcasing the differences between the two, CNN reported.

Donald Trump has accused Milley of treason over phone calls Milley held with his Chinese counterpart in 2020. He called the calls on social media as "an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!" Milley has said that the phone calls were coordinated with the defence secretaries at the time and other national security agencies. Trump also criticised Mark Milley of botching the US forces withdrawal from Afghanistan. Although Milley was against the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan.

Chief of Staff to the US Secretary of Defence, Joe Kasper, said, "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."

On his final morning in office, former US President Joe Biden issued a blanket pardon for Milley after Trump pledged to seek retribution against those he considered opposing his first presidency. Biden said that Milley, during his over 40 years in military service, was deployed "to some of the most dangerous parts of the world to protect and defend democracy."

Milley thanked Biden for the pardon and said, "It has been an honor and a privilege to serve our great country in uniform for over four decades, and I will continue to keep faith and loyalty to our nation and Constitution until my dying breath." Biden's pardon protects Milley from prosecution under criminal law and military law. However, an inspector general probe could reduce the rank of Milley if it determines any wrongdoing.

Earlier on Friday, Trump fired the inspectors general from more than a dozen federal agencies, including the Department of Defence, for not giving Congress the required 30-day notice or providing a substantive rationale for the firings, CNN reported. A few hours after the swearing-in, Trump revoked the secret service detail for his former national security adviser John Bolton, which was given to him due to threats from Iran.

In addition, the US President revoked the security detail for his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He also revoked the detail from Former Chief Medical Advisor to the US President Anthony Fauci, which was being provided and paid for by the National Institutes of Health due to ongoing threats from his public-facing role during the Covid-19 pandemic. (ANI)