An urgent plea by five former defense secretaries -- including Lloyd Austin, who stepped down in January -- for Congress to immediately hold hearings on the recent and unexplained firings of top military officers by the Trump administration appears likely to go unanswered.

In the letter^[1], the former top Pentagon civilian leaders said they were "deeply alarmed" by the firings, which they called reckless, and feared they were carried out for "purely partisan reasons" to politicize the military. Any hearings on the firings of the Joint Chiefs chairman, top Navy^[2] officer and others by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would likely be held by Congress' armed services committees, which are tasked with oversight of the military.

But asked Tuesday about the former Pentagon chiefs' appeal, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., said that he is not interested in holding hearings on the issue, despite the alarm rung by past defense secretaries.

Read Next: Hill Air Force Base Prepares to Scale Back Child Care Services Amid Mass Federal Firings, Resignations^[3]

"The president's got the prerogative to have the people he wants leading the Pentagon," Rogers said. "He's the commander in chief."

Meanwhile, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., declined to answer the question altogether, saying that he does not "have any response today" because "today is a day for me to step back." Wicker did not elaborate on why he could not respond Tuesday, a day when he was working and voting.

The disinterest from the powerful leaders of the two committees with the most jurisdiction over the matter signals Congress is unlikely to dig deeper into the firings.

At issue is Trump's unprecedented firings last month^[4] of Gen. "CQ" Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Adm. Lisa Franchetti as chief of naval operations; Gen. James Slife as Air Force^[5] vice chief of staff; and the judge advocates general of the Army^[6], Navy and Air Force.

Neither Trump nor Hegseth has given any reasons for the firings.

But both Brown, the second Black man to be Joint Chiefs chairman, and Franchetti, the first woman on the Joint Chiefs, were frequent targets of conservatives who have accused the military of turning into a "woke" hotbed of left-wing policies, including Hegseth before he became defense secretary.

In response to the firings, last week, five former defense secretaries penned an "appeal to Congress" calling for hearings, The Associated Press first reported^[7]. Among the signatories were Austin, Hegseth's immediate predecessor under the Biden administration, and Jim Mattis, who served in the first Trump administration before splitting with Trump over the U.S. military presence in Syria.

The other signatories were William Perry, who served in the Clinton administration, and Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel, who both served in the Obama administration.

In addition to calling for hearings, the former secretaries also implored the Senate not to confirm any Pentagon nominees -- including the retired lieutenant general Trump chose to replace Brown as Joint Chiefs chairman -- until his administration provides answers on dismissing the top officers.

"Mr. Trump's dismissals raise troubling questions about the administration's desire to politicize the military and to remove legal constraints on the president's power," the former secretaries wrote. "We're not asking members of Congress to do us a favor; we're asking them to do their jobs."

While Republicans have largely brushed off the firings as being within the president's power, Democrats have sounded the alarm.

On Monday, every Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee sent a letter to Hegseth demanding he provide a legal justification for firing the judge advocates general, essentially the top legal officials for the service branches.

Noting laws for each of the military services that say "no officer or employee of the Department of Defense may interfere with the ability of the Judge Advocate General to give independent legal advice," the senators said the firings appear to be a "direct violation of federal law."

"By arbitrarily and baselessly removing duly selected and highly qualified JAG officers, the administration undermines the military justice system and has interfered with the independent legal counsel that uniformed attorneys provide to commanders and the department itself," the letter, organized by Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said.

The firings, the letter added, create an "unmistakable chilling effect" and signal to judge advocates that their positions are contingent on "political or personal loyalty" rather than expertise or adherence to the law.

Related: No More Female 4-Stars: Franchetti Firing Leaves Top Ranks Filled by Men^[8]

U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth this week asking for restraint in layoffs affecting veterans and national security.

In the letter, the Republican congresswoman asks Hegseth to prioritize keeping veterans in their jobs and ensuring they are not disproportionally laid off by cuts to the federal workforce. She also asked that veterans get access to other federal positions in areas focusing on national security, writing that cuts could be “weakening (the United States’) defense capabilities.”

Hegseth directed the Pentagon^[1] in February to cut about 8%, or $50 billion, from the military budget. The Department of Defense has also announced it would review staff members still in their probationary periods for layoffs, according to a recent news release. This means about 5,400 probationary workers will be released from their jobs, followed by a hiring freeze across the department.

Kiggans noted Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, which she has represented since 2023, is home to tens of thousands of servicemembers and veterans. She said Hampton Roads is especially vulnerable to cuts in military and federal workforce.

“As a former Navy helicopter pilot and a commonsense conservative, I believe we can responsibly rein in waste while ensuring ( Department of Defense) personnel with prior military service remain in positions where they can continue to contribute to our national security,” Kiggans said in a statement. “Any reductions or reforms to the size and scope of the federal government that risk weakening our defense capabilities, particularly as we face increasing global threats, are unacceptable.”

Hampton Roads is home to the world’s largest naval station and more than a dozen other military bases. According to the Department of Defense^[2], more than 100,000 active-duty and reserve personnel are employed in the region in addition to about 40,000 civilian personnel employed on Hampton Roads military bases.

Kiggans’ letter comes as Hampton Roads residents have become more vocal in their opposition^[3] to some of President Donald Trump’s policies. Twice in the last month, protestors have demonstrated outside Kiggans’ Virginia Beach district office.

“The ( Department of Defense) has laid off thousands of employees, many of whom are veterans who have dedicated their careers to serving our country,” Kiggans said in her letter. “These layoffs are not just a loss of jobs but also a loss of the skilled workforce that is essential to ensuring our defense readiness. President Trump pledged that he would work to minimize job losses for veterans. I hope the ( Department of Defense) is following that promise.”

Since cuts began earlier this year, Democrats have amplified outrage from constituents. Sen. Mark Warner told reporters he has received an “overwhelming” number of calls^[4] from Hampton Roads residents concerned about their jobs. He also said the loss of government contracting jobs could be a “recipe for disaster for the region.”

U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D- Newport News, invited a veteran who was laid off from her federal job^[5]to be his guest to Trump’s joint address to Congress on Tuesday. Retired Army Staff Sgt. Alexzandria Hunt was a supply technician at the Hampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center before getting laid off on Feb. 25. Other Democratic congress members are also bringing federal workers who have lost their jobs to Tuesday’s address.

Eliza Noe, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.^[6]

©2025 The Virginian-Pilot. Visit pilotonline.com^[7]. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.^[8]

The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.^[1] for consideration.

The email came at 7:30 at night on a Friday, an awkward time for an awkward message.

"Please see important attachment regarding your employment status with the Small Business Administration," it read.

That attachment detailed my termination with a two-week notice, explaining that, as a probationary employee, I had "failed to demonstrate fitness for continued federal employment."

I had served in the Air Force as an intelligence analyst, separating in 2010, and had signed up in the summer of 2024 to continue my public service with the U.S. Small Business Administration, America's only agency dedicated to supporting and uplifting the backbone of this country, small businesses. I was passionate about the work, and my supervisor had just given me a very positive performance review.

By Monday, that termination notice was rescinded, or so it seemed. The following day, I received the same termination email, this time terminating me immediately, with no notice and no severance. The next morning, I turned in my laptop and cleaned out my office, passing the same American flag I had stood in front of while being sworn into my now former position.

By the end of February, thousands of probationary employees (in their first year or two of service) had been fired across the federal workforce, each with a similar (if not identical) explanation -- poor performance. The truth? It was a sweeping, indiscriminate purge that disregarded actual job performance, efficiency or impact.

But why should you care? Why should we care?

Nearly one-third of the two-million-person federal workforce served in the military. If you're doing the math with me, that's over half a million veterans. Veterans get priority in hiring but are receiving zero protection from being fired. That's not just bad policy, it's bad faith. A community of people with special expertise in teamwork and effectiveness is a valuable asset to the government, and they should be relied upon to drive the best path forward.

Unsurprisingly, the Department of Veterans Affairs is a strong employer of veterans, more than 120,000 of them. In fact, nearly one-quarter of the VA's new hires last year were veterans, making them easy targets as probationary employees. Veterans bring unmatched experience to the VA -- as both employees and patients. These reckless cuts hit veterans twice -- first as employees, then as those relying on federal services. Not only can they find themselves unexpectedly and undeservedly laid off, but the very department designed to help them in their times of need will now be understaffed and possibly unavailable.

At the Defense Department, where thousands of layoffs have already been announced, nearly half of civilian workers are veterans.

From a business perspective, my other expertise as a prior small business owner, this is downright ironic. These indiscriminate firings, masked as an attempt to make the government more efficient, will lead to less productivity and a decrease in service availability to taxpaying Americans. In business, the bottom line is a critical measurement of health. In government, the safety and well-being of its citizens are the priority. Yet, the people who help keep us safe are being discarded in favor of a bottom line.

But there's still time. Each of us has a voice, whether written or verbally, and a representative who needs to hear it. This isn't a case of big government versus small government, red or blue. This is a case of good government, and every American deserves it, especially veterans. Call your congressperson, write your senator, and voice your concern. Call today. Demand an investigation. Ask them: "What's the plan to protect veterans?" Insist on answers.

We cannot sacrifice our nation's heroes in favor of a bottom line. If not, I can only pray for my fellow patriots when they receive that awkward email on a Friday night.

-- Chris Wicker is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, former small business owner, and workforce advocate. Most recently, he served as deputy district director for the U.S. Small Business Administration before being fired in a wave of federal workforce reductions.