Concerns are rising as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered nearly all 800 top military officers worldwide to the U.S. for a “rare” and “urgent” meeting in Virginia — believed to be without precedent and called with no published agenda.

Calling it a “highly unusual directive,” The Washington Post, which broke the news, reported that the meeting comes “months after Hegseth’s team at the Pentagon announced plans to undertake a sweeping consolidation of top military commands.”

The meeting also comes just after President Donald Trump rebranded the DoD as the Department of War, which requires congressional approval, and amid an order from Secretary Hegseth to Pentagon reporters that they publish only approved material. It also comes just ahead of what is expected to be a federal government shutdown as Republicans so far have refused to negotiate with Democrats over healthcare funding. The Trump administration has threatened mass layoffs of federal workers on October 1 if the government shuts down.

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The secretive meeting is raising national security concerns.

“None of the people who spoke with The Post could recall a defense secretary ever ordering so many of the military’s generals and admirals to assemble like this. Several said it raised security concerns,” the Post reported.

“People are very concerned. They have no idea what it means,” one person told the Post. “Another person said ordering hundreds of military leaders to appear in the same location is ‘not how this is done.'”

“Are we taking every general and flag officer out of the Pacific right now?” one U.S. official said. “All of it is weird.”

The Post also reported that the Defense Department “possesses highly secure videoconferencing technology that enables military officials, regardless of their location, to discuss sensitive matters with the White House, the Pentagon or both.”

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Critics are also expressing concern.

“I don’t know why Hegseth is calling this big jamboree in until I do. I can’t really evaluate it. On its face, pulling all these guys from all over the world and making them all sit in one place seems kind of stupid,” remarked retired U.S. Naval War College Professor Tom Nichols, now at The Atlantic.

“With modern secure communications all of this could be done remotely. If hundreds of top military commanders are in one place is that not a security concern?” noted Barbara Starr, the well-known former CNN national security reporter.

“Extraordinary move: Hegseth summons hundreds of generals and admirals to Quantico for reasons unknown. Good day for someone to plan an invasion,” observed Anton La Guardia, Diplomatic Editor at The Economist.

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Correction: The headline has been changed to accurately reflect Brendan Carr’s title

Vice President JD Vance is claiming that threats made by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr toward ABC and its parent company, Disney — threats that were supported by President Donald Trump’s remarks — were merely a “joke.”

Carr has control over broadcasters’ licenses, a fact obviously clear to Disney/ABC when he suggested to right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson that late-night host Jimmy Kimmel should be taken off the air.

Johnson posted video of his interview with Carr, and wrote:

“Chairman Brendan Carr calls Kimmel’s malicious lies … ‘truly sick’ and says they should result in Kimmel’s immediate suspension and may lead to ABC losing its broadcast license.”

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“Chairman Carr confirms the agency has a ‘strong case’ to hold Kimmel, ABC, and Disney accountable for spreading dangerous, politically motivated misinformation.”

He quoted Carr as saying: “This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

“They have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest.”

“The FCC could make a strong argument that this is sort of an intentional effort to mislead the American people about a very core fundamental fact, a very important matter.”

According to the Vice President, however, Carr made his remarks in a tweet as a “joke.”

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On Wednesday, asked if he can square his “fervent belief in free speech with what’s going on now with Jimmy Kimmel and the FCC pressure,” the Vice President responded: “Well, look, on the free speech conversation, I’m pretty sure that Jimmy Kimmel was back on the air last night, and to the extent that he’s not back on the air, it’s because he’s not funny and has terrible ratings.”

“This is not a federal government problem,” Vance said. “Well, people will say is, ‘well, you know, didn’t the FCC commissioner put a tweet out that said something bad?'”

“Well, compare that,” Vance insisted, “the FCC commissioner making a joke on social media — what is the government action that the Trump administration has engaged in to kick Jimmy Kimmel or anybody else off the air?”

“Zero,” Vance insisted, despite what has been described as a threat to ABC.

“What government pressure have we brought to bear to tell people that they’re not allowed to speak their mind? Zero.”

“We believe in free speech in the Trump administration. We are fighting every single day to protect it,” Vance insisted, less than 24 hours after President Trump appeared to threaten legal or other action against ABC for putting Kimmel back on the air Tuesday night.

Vance: People will say, “Didn’t FCC commissioner put a tweet out that said something bad?” Compare that, the FCC commissioner making a joke… What is the government action that the Trump admin has engaged in to kick Kimmel or anybody else off the air? Zero. pic.twitter.com/5LFPJlotKR

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 24, 2025

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Former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau, now a political commentator and podcaster, responded strongly to JD Vance with a searing set of factchecks after the Vice President used a vulgar remark to insult him.

Shortly after news broke that a gunman had shot three people at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Dallas, the Vice President quickly framed the story as an attack on law enforcement, despite the victims being detainees — a fact he neglected to mention. Two of the three have died. All were detainees, not ICE agents or law enforcement.

“The obsessive attack on law enforcement, particularly ICE, must stop. I’m praying for everyone hurt in this attack and for their families,” Vance wrote on social media.

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Later, the FBI claimed a bullet casing found had the words “Anti-ICE” written on it.

Many were quick to rebuke the Vice President, among them Favreau, who wrote: “The Vice President is not a reliable source of information. This is now the fifth or sixth time he’s posted a political take contradicted by facts from his own law enforcement agencies.”

Vance then countered: “The gunman had anti-ICE messaging carved on the bullets he used. What, precisely, did I get wrong, dips–?”

That’s when Favreau unleashed his lengthy response, noting some of the instances when Vance rushed to judgment rather than wait for a more full set of facts.

“Not sure why it’s so difficult to give people the full story,” Favreau wrote, “detainees were murdered by a sniper, and “anti-ICE” was found on a bullet. This seems to happen quite a bit with you.

He quoting Vance saying: “It is a statistical fact that most of the lunatics in American politics today are proud members of the far-Left.”

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“Not a statistical fact,” Favreau explained, “not even what the single online poll you cited says.”

He continued, writing: “You threatened George Soros’ Open Society Foundation based on a lie that they funded a Nation article you didn’t like. They did no such thing.”

“You got another community note after accusing the Wall Street Journal of fabricating the existence of Trump’s birthday note to Epstein…because Congress obtained the letter.”

“You accused me of not reading a court document that you cited as proof that Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a ‘convicted MS-13 gang member.’ He is not, the document didn’t say that, and your tweet ended up as evidence in a trial the government lost.”

“I could go on, but you get the point. Have a blessed day.”

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