Pentagon officials are not offering any explanation as to why they removed the portrait of Gen. Mark Milley, the former Joint Chiefs chairman, on Monday shortly after President Donald Trump was inaugurated.

The portrait of Milley hung in an ornate hallway that is dedicated to the history of the Joint Chiefs and displays 19 other paintings of all other prior chairmen going back to Gen. Omar Bradley. Milley's portrait, the latest addition in the historic line, was unveiled Jan. 10^[1].

By 2 p.m. Monday, the day of Trump's inauguration, reporters inside the Pentagon noticed that the portrait had been removed from the wall^[2]. On Tuesday, reporters observed workers patching the holes^[3] and repainting the wall^[4] where the portrait had hung.

Read Next: He Met Trump After Being Booted from the Space Force. Then, He Was Tapped to Help Lead the Air Force.^[5]

A spokesman for the current chairman, Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown, directed Military.com's questions on the removal to the office of the secretary of defense and the White House.

The secretary's office simply said "no comment," while the White House did not respond to the query in time for publication.

While an official explanation for the removal of the portrait that had hung in the Pentagon for less than two weeks was not offered by defense officials, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told a group of reporters Tuesday that Trump ordered that the painting be removed.

"I guess he's OK with rewriting history," Kaine said in a video posted by reporter Joe Khalil to social media^[6].

Milley served as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs -- a position that is largely responsible for being the president's top military adviser -- between 2019 and 2023 and advised Trump for the last two years of his first term in office. Before that, Milley had been the highest-ranking officer in the U.S. Army^[7].

While Milley's tenure was rocky and he was condemned by both Republicans and Democrats at various times, the biggest rift between the Army general and Trump came after the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

In the days after the insurrection, Milley made two calls to a Chinese general, Li Zuocheng. "My task at that time was to deescalate," Milley told senators that year, and explained that he was hoping to calm fears in the Chinese top brass that the U.S. might attack China amid the chaos and turmoil of a transition that was being rocked by violence.

Milley was "certain" that the former president "did not intend on attacking the Chinese, and it is my directed responsibility to convey presidential orders and intent," he said.

Amid his reelection campaign in 2023, Trump claimed Milley would have faced death "in times gone by"^[8] for the call and that his retirement was a "time for all citizens of the USA to celebrate!"

Katie Miller, the wife of Stephen Miller, one of the key architects of Trump's immigration policies during his first term, claimed that Milley "was a traitor to President Trump who lied to see his name in print and be elevated as a hero to the liberal media" in a social media post the day the portrait was unveiled^[9].

The massive military headquarters that sits on the bank of the Potomac River not only displays portraits of the military and civilian heads of the services but also the former secretaries of defense and war.

Milley's portrait was part of that tradition, and it was made possible because of a donation to the Army by the "Association of the United States Army" -- a nonprofit organization that acts as an outside advocacy organization for the service.

"For at least the last 30 years, we have paid for the portraits of the outgoing chiefs of staff of the Army and secretaries of the Army -- and outgoing chairman when he is an Army general officer -- through a gift proffer," Tom McCuin, a spokesman for the group, told Military.com in an email Tuesday.

"We donate the money to the Army, which the Army then uses to pay the artist," he added, before noting that the finished portraits are property of the Department of the Army or, in the case of the chairman, the Department of Defense.

Milley's portrait from his time as the Army chief of staff was still hanging among his fellow Army chiefs at the time of publication.

In both his Army and chairman portraits, Milley is depicted in a service uniform and included somewhere in the works is a Constitution of the United States, a Princeton University seal, and a photo of his family.

In his chairman's portrait, Milley also had the artist include a battle map of Ukraine lying on a table, among other details.

Pentagon officials wouldn't say where the portrait was taken.

Related: Gen. Mark Milley Says He Has Taken 'Measures' to Protect Family After Trump Suggests He Should be Executed^[10]

WASHINGTON — Senators vetting the nomination of Pete Hegseth^[1] for defense secretary received an affidavit Tuesday from a former sister-in-law alleging that the onetime Fox News host was abusive to his second wife, to the point where she feared for her safety. Hegseth denies the allegations.

The sister-in-law, Danielle Hegseth, was formerly married to the nominee's brother, and in an affidavit obtained by The Associated Press she said she believes that Pete Hegseth is “unfit” to run the Defense Department based on what she witnessed and heard. She said she first relayed her allegations to the FBI in December but was concerned that the information was not shared with Congress as senators consider Hegseth's nomination^[2] to lead the Pentagon.

The affidavit describes Hegseth’s treatment of his second wife, Samantha, and alleges repeat drunkenness and a domestic situation where Samantha Hegseth had a safe word to indicate if she was in danger at home. Danielle Hegseth said Samantha texted that safe word to her sometime in 2015 or 2016, which prompted her to call a third party for help.

“I have chosen to come forward publicly, at significant personal sacrifice, because I am deeply concerned by what Hegseth’s confirmation would mean for our military and our country,” she said.

An attorney for Pete Hegseth vehemently denied the allegations^[3]. Tim Parlatore said the affidavit was filled with “belated claims” by an ex-relative with “an axe to grind against the entire Hegseth family.”

“Sam has never alleged that there was any abuse, she signed court documents acknowledging that there was no abuse and recently reaffirmed the same during her FBI interview," Parlatore said in a statement. "Belated claims by Danielle Dietrich, an anti-Trump far left Democrat who is divorced from Mr. Hegseth’s brother and never got along with the Hegseth family, do nothing to change that.”

The affidavit was filed in response to a request from Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, who said he was seeking her statement to gain “personal knowledge about Mr. Hegseth’s fitness to occupy this important position.”^[4]

In the affidavit, Danielle Hegseth says she believes Hegseth’s marriage to Samantha was abusive. She said Samantha in 2014 told her she once hid in her closet because she feared for her safety. She acknowledged she did “not personally witness physical or sexual abuse” by Pete Hegseth toward his wife.

“I believe what Samantha told me because what she told me is consistent with what I personally observed of Hegseth’s erratic and aggressive behavior over many years,” she said.

Neither Samantha Hegseth nor an attorney who represented her in divorce proceedings immediately responded to requests for comment.

In a statement to NBC News, which first reported^[5] on the affidavit, Samantha Hegseth said there "was no physical abuse in my marriage. This is the only further statement I will make to you, I have let you know that I am not speaking and will not speak on my marriage to Pete. Please respect this decision.”

Samantha Hegseth and Pete Hegseth both signed a Minnesota court document in 2021 during their divorce saying neither claimed to be a victim of domestic abuse.

The sworn statement arrived just one day after Hegseth's nomination was advanced out of the Senate Armed Services Committee^[6] despite initial skepticism from many Republicans. A final vote confirming him as defense secretary could come this week.

Questions were raised before Hegseth’s hearing last week about the scope of the FBI background check, which some said failed to include interviews with those who had raised allegations against him. Democrats pushed for a deeper FBI review that could be more broadly shared with senators.

During the hearing, Hegseth did not directly answer yes or no on questions about his drinking, instead saying the issue was part of an orchestrated smear campaign against him.

At the time, it was left to the Trump transition team to decide how much more information to pursue and share on Hegseth.

The information in the affidavit was not relayed to the leaders of the Armed Services Committee when FBI officials briefed them earlier this month on the results of Hegseth’s background check, according to a person familiar with the contents of the briefing who was granted anonymity to discuss it.

“As I have said for months, the reports of Mr. Hegseth’s history of alleged sexual assault, alcohol abuse, and public misconduct necessitate an exhaustive background investigation," Reed said in a statement Tuesday. “I have been concerned that the background check process has been inadequate, and this affidavit confirms my fears.”

Hegseth was grilled by senators during his hearing about his behavior, including excessive drinking, extramarital affairs and allegations of sexual assault, which he has denied.

Hegseth has promised not to drink on the job^[7] and has denied a 2017 sex assault allegation^[8] but acknowledged paying the woman a settlement^[9]. He was going through a divorce at the time after having a child with a Fox News producer who became his current wife, according to court records and his social media posts.

In the affidavit, Danielle Hegseth also alleges that Pete Hegseth, while under the influence of alcohol and both were leaving a bar, repeatedly shouted “no means yes!"

“I took this to mean that, in his opinion, nonconsensual sex is ok,” Danielle Hegseth said in the affidavit.

In a letter to Hegseth^[10] last week, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, another Democrat on the panel, asked that he answer several questions about his previous conduct^[11].

The Massachusetts Democrat said she was “deeply concerned by the many ways in which your past behavior and rhetoric indicates that you are unfit to lead the Department of Defense.”

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AP reporters Eric Tucker and Lolita C. Baldor contributed from Washington.