The Quantico Generals Meeting: A Prelude to More Domestic Use of the Military?

Donald Stanton

Impakter

Oct. 6, 2025

Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Donald Stanton warns that recent actions mark a dangerous expansion of military involvement in domestic affairs

We are now witnessing a major military policy shift with Trump and his Administration’s efforts to compel loyalty from generals, admirals, and senior enlisted advisors. President Trump and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth are methodically pushing the boundaries on, and expanding the use of, troop deployments for perceived domestic problems within the United States.

On September 30, Secretary Hegseth called together 800 senior leaders from all over the world to Quantico for an unprecedented meeting, which President Trump joined, to assert their control over the military. It is becoming evident that the President and the Secretary are attempting to consolidate their powers over our military leadership, and are increasingly using the National Guard, and even the active-duty military, domestically as policing instruments.

Secretary Hegseth, who grew up in Minnesota and attended Princeton University where he was editor-in-chief of The Princeton Tory, was a cadet in the Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (AROTC). He graduated in 2003, was commissioned as an Army infantry officer, and worked at Bear Stearns as an equity-markets analyst. Hegseth served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal twice. In 2014, Hegseth became a commentator on the Fox News Channel and worked for various conservative causes until President Trump nominated him to be Secretary. In January 2025, Hegseth was confirmed by the Senate in a 51–50 vote; this was only the second political confirmation in US history to be decided by a vice president.