Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy said Tuesday that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley “should resign” if the military official undermined former President Donald Trump by privately negotiating with his Chinese counterpart.
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“Well, yes, yes,” Kennedy responded when asked by Fox Primetime host Lawrence Jones if Milley should resign. “But these are all allegations and this is still America,” Kennedy continued.
“You give me about 15 minutes with Gen. Milley under oath, in front of a committee of the United States Senate, and I will get to the truth.”
“If the truth is as alleged then, yes, he should resign.”
Kennedy was responding to an allegation found in “Peril,” a new book co-authored by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, which claims Milley phoned his military counterpart in China on Oct. 30, 2020 and relayed his concerns that Trump might order an preemptive military strike against that country. (RELATED: ‘The Mona Lisa Of Incompetence’: Sen. Kennedy Flames Biden For Leaving Billions Of Dollars Of Equipment ‘To The Enemy’)
The book also asserts that Milley allegedly took secret action to stop Trump from using nuclear weapons after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
“I’ve been very disappointed in Gen. Milley,” Kennedy said, suggesting that the U.S. needs a military leader and a real chairman of the joint chiefs but it doesn’t have that with Milley. “Based on his behavior in the last year or two, we don’t have a military leader. We’ve got a politician.”
US Army General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, holds a press briefing about the US military drawdown in Afghanistan, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC Sept. 1, 2021. (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
The senator called for hearings into Milley’s actions, though he suggested his “Democratic friends” would like to avoid the issue. “I think Gen. Milley has a lot of explaining to do and I think he ought to stop bellowing and honking on like a goose about white rage and actually try to make our country more secure.” (RELATED: Sen. John Kennedy Rips Biden After News Of $2 BillionHalt To Border Wall)
Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who played a prominent role as a witness in the first Trump impeachment, also called on Milley to resign if the allegations are true.
If this is true GEN Milley must resign. He usurped civilian authority, broke Chain of Command, and violated the sacrosanct principle of civilian control over the military. It’s an extremely dangerous precedent. You can’t simply walk away from that. #dotherightthingintherightway https://t.co/izsMMCFPrz
— Alexander S. Vindman (@AVindman) September 14, 2021
He tweeted Tuesday that “If this is true, GEN Milley must resign. He usurped civilian authority, broke Chain of Command, and violated the sacrosanct principle of civilian control over the military.”