The Insider

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers wants Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to explain why the Trump administration is considering firing senior military leaders, which critics have likened to a political "purge."

In a letter sent today, Reps. Seth Moulton (D-MA), Jason Crow (D-CO), Jared Golden (D-ME), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and Don Bacon (R-NE) ask Hegseth for “clear, transparent and apolitical criteria” for the possible firings.

“As your administration contemplates removing numerous General and Flag Officers, it is vital that we have transparency on the criteria and process used to evaluate these officers,” the lawmakers wrote. “There are valid reasons to remove a General or Flag Officer, but there must be clear, transparent and apolitical criteria and processes associated with any such dismissal.”

The letter follows media reports that a list of possible staff terminations is circulating among Republicans on Capitol Hill that includes Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti.

The Pentagon has declined to discuss the reports of possible staff terminations.

Prior to being confirmed as defense secretary, Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army National Guard veteran, had stated publicly that Brown should be fired over his perceived championing of “woke” diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

In their letter to Hegseth, the lawmakers acknowledge that all senior military leaders serve at the pleasure of the president.

But, they wrote, the “General and Flag Officers of this country are patriots who have dedicated their lives to the defense of the United States.”

“Most, if not all, of the current three- and four-star General and Flag officers were General and Flag officers under the first Trump administration and all have served honorably under many administrations of both parties,” they wrote. “Each of them has been confirmed by the United States Senate repeatedly over the course of their careers.”

The Army is gearing up to release a request for proposals for its Common Tactical Truck program, tentatively slated for the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, according to a market research survey posted to industry on Feb. 20.

While the milestone is pre-decisional, the Army is also planning two dates to precede the RFP: a draft version to get industry feedback could land in September 2025 and an industry day would follow a month later, in October.

The CTT Family of Vehicles is designed to replace the Army’s Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck, Pelletized Load System, Line Haul Tractor and Medium Tractor vehicles, according to the latest report from the Pentagon’s director of operational test and evaluation.

“The CTT supports worldwide combat operations and mitigates current TWV gaps in driver safety systems, autonomy, fuel consumption, and predictive maintenance,” according to the Army.

There are six variants planned for the CTT: A Line Haul Tractor, Off-Road Tractor, Load Handling System, Cargo Variant, Tanker Variant and Wrecker Variant. Some of the tasks the vehicles will undertake include “conducting line-haul/local-haul operations, self-load/unloading standard flat racks and containers, and transporting various mission packages to enhance the Combatant Commanders’ operational flexibility,” according to the Army. 

The service wants the truck to be able to perform its missions on primary and secondary roads, trails or “urban terrain,” in any sort of climate and perform effectively in the increasingly “highly contested, more lethal” land and cyber domains, according to the survey.

Competing vendors in the CTT program include Oshkosh Defense, Navistar, Mack Defense and a joint bid from American Rheinmetall and GM Defense, Inside Defense previously reported.

The market research survey includes 62 questions in all, drawing on cost, engineering, manufacturing and logistics concerns, among other topics like past performance, quality control and test and evaluation.

While the Army is still working on its requirements for the vehicle, the expectation is for the CTT to “meet or exceed” legacy requirements and to take advantage of “the commercial industry’s rapidly advancing fields of driver safety systems, cybersecurity, autonomy, improved fuel economy, off-road mobility, and predictive logistics,” the survey says.

The service hopes to transition the CTT program into a major capability acquisition pathway and begin low-rate initial production in FY-28 and is requesting funding to produce 7,217 CTTs by FY-35, according to DOT&E. 

Industry has until noon on March 20 to submit answers to the questionnaire.

Pratt & Whitney has completed a detailed design review for its Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion offering for the Air Force, the company announced today.

The XA103 prototype effort can now begin procuring hardware to construct the engine’s ground demonstrator, according to the news release.

“For decades, propulsion has been a key differentiator for the United States, and we are working with the U.S. Air Force to make sure it stays that way,” said Chris Flynn, vice president of Military Development Programs at Pratt & Whitney. “Collaborating with the U.S. Air Force, we have supported every generation of jet engine development since World War II. XA103, our adaptive engine for the future, will continue to advance our digital and agile design and development capabilities while advancing the propulsion capability for the warfighter.”

The engine’s adaptive architecture will allow its components to adjust to optimize fuel efficiency and survivability as well as power and thermal management, according to Pratt, which is a subsidiary of RTX.

Last month, the Air Force awarded Pratt and GE Aerospace indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity modification contracts for up to $3.5 billion each to take their respective NGAP engine designs into prototyping.

GE announced yesterday that its XA102 had passed its detailed design review.

NGAP is set to be used in unspecified upcoming aircraft. It has long been tied to the Next Generation Air Dominance platform, but that program has been delayed.

Following a deferral by the previous administration, President Trump’s team is set to make a decision on how or whether to pursue NGAD.

This INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Pentagon looking to shift billions of dollars into areas the Trump administration deems most important, plus coverage of the Citi 2025 Industrial Tech and Mobility Conference and more.

The Trump administration is aiming to have the Pentagon shift $50 billion into what it considers higher-priority efforts:

Pentagon to cut FY-26 budget by $50B to re-invest in new priorities

The Defense Department is developing a $50 billion list of budget "offsets" that can be cut from the unreleased fiscal year 2026 spending request and re-invested in new priorities like Iron Dome for America and border security, exempting more than a dozen areas from the review like collaborative combat aircraft, Virginia-class submarines and one-way autonomous drones.

The CEOs from Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman spoke this week at the Citi 2025 Industrial Tech and Mobility Conference:

Lockheed CEO: F-35 still 'essential' despite promises of unmanned warfare

Lockheed Martin's CEO doesn't see the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter losing prominence in the U.S. or partner fleet anytime soon, despite some Trump administration officials questioning the jet's usefulness as drones are made more sophisticated.

Northrop CEO: 'Iron Dome for America' could expand uses for existing, developmental capabilities

Northrop Grumman CEO Kathy Warden sees potential from President Trump's Iron Dome for America executive order to expand use cases for existing capabilities and those already in the developmental pipeline.

The head of U.S. Southern Command recently testified on Capitol Hill:

SOUTHCOM: China eyeing Caribbean as 'offensive island chain' to threaten U.S. at home

The U.S. military is increasingly concerned that the Caribbean could become an "offensive island chain" for China as Beijing expands its footprint in the region in a way that could increase combat access and potential force projection, jeopardizing the United States' strategic positioning in its own hemisphere.

Document: Senate hearing on SOUTHCOM, NORTHCOM

The latest CMMC news from our colleagues at Inside Cybersecurity:

Stakeholders see opportunity to galvanize efforts around implementing CMMC program with Arrington joining DOD CIO office

The hiring of Katie Arrington as the new DOD chief information security officer will bring a renewed focus on getting the Pentagon’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program fully realized, according to stakeholders who highlighted rulemaking efforts in the final stages and the official launch of the initiative.

Some counter UAS news:

Army will soon pick vendor for planned counter UAS C2 system

The Army is gearing up to choose a company that will provide the software for its planned Forward Counter Unmanned Aircraft Systems Command and Control System (FCUAS C2) -- which will succeed its current Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD C2).

The engines on the Air Force's F-22 Raptor will be getting a lot of money to stay in top shape:

Pratt & Whitney gets $1.5 billion to sustain F119 engines over next three years

Engine-maker Pratt & Whitney has been awarded up to $1.5 billion to sustain the motors which power the Air Force's F-22 Raptor, the company said in a news release.

On Feb. 14, the Defense Department filed a "status report and notice of corrective action" with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims regarding the Space Development Agency's Tranche 2 Transport Layer Gamma program:

Tournear violated procurement integrity, SDA to rebid portion of T2TL

Space Development Agency Director Derek Tournear violated the Procurement Integrity Act, leading the agency to rebid a portion of its Tranche 2 Transport Layer, according to recent court documents.

Document: DOD's court filing on T2TL Gamma program

A detailed design review of GE Aerospace's Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion option for the Air Force has been successfully completed, the company said today, allowing prototyping to begin.

“With the DDR now complete, GE Aerospace has been awarded the next contract phase to procure, assemble and test an XA102 full-scale demonstrator engine,” GE said in the announcement. “The design review was presented to the U.S. Air Force, showcasing the comprehensive digital engine model and validating its readiness for the next phase of development.”

Late last month, both GE Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney were awarded indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity modification contracts of up to $3.5 billion each to carry their NGAP designs into prototyping. At the time of the award, no funds had been released.

“GE Aerospace is making great strides with model-based engineering, which has been instrumental in the success of the XA102 engine design,” Steve Russell, vice president and general manager of Edison Works at GE Aerospace, said in a statement. “As we transition into the procurement and build phase, we will continue to incorporate this innovative approach while working closely with our supply chain partners to advance the engine toward a full-scale demonstration.”

The Air Force has in recent months sought to grow industrial base capacity to produce these kinds of adaptive-cycle engines since only a small number of businesses are capable of building them.

According to GE, the NGAP-type engines are critical to powering future fighter jets because they can support “up to 30% greater range and significantly more thermal management capability compared to today’s most advanced combat engine.”

The Senate Armed Services Committee is slated to hold a nomination hearing on Feb. 25 for billionaire investor Stephen Feinberg to be deputy defense secretary.

Feinberg is the co-founder, co-CEO and chief investment officer for global investment and private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, with an estimated personal net worth of $5 billion.

Formerly chair of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board during President Trump’s first term, Feinberg has no previous experience working at the Pentagon, where, if confirmed, he would be charged with overseeing the day-to-day operations of a massive bureaucracy of three million people and a budget of nearly $850 billion.

In the president’s first term, Trump also reached outside the world of national security to fill DOD’s No. 2 role, nominating Boeing executive Pat Shanahan.

Trump has called Feinberg, who is a long-time donor, an “extremely successful businessman” who will “help Make the Pentagon Great Again.”

If confirmed, Feinberg would be the deputy to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News host and Army veteran who also had no previous experience working at the Pentagon.

Hegseth, who faced a tough confirmation hearing, was met with uniform opposition by Democrats and lost three GOP votes, forcing an historic tie-breaking vote by Vice President Vance.

Feinberg’s nomination for the No. 2 DOD job has been far less public than Hegseth’s, which involved an active campaign for votes on Capitol Hill. Though it is not unusual for the nomination of the deputy defense secretary to draw less attention than cabinet nominees, previous interviews and reporting about Feinberg have described him as “reclusive.”

While Republicans are expected to support his nomination and can get him confirmed without any Democratic votes, it is unclear what kind of opposition Feinberg might face next week. He is expected to be questioned extensively about potential conflicts of interest stemming from his many defense-related business interests.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), a vocal opponent of most of Trump’s nominees, sent a 23-page letter to the White House earlier this week -- addressed to Feinberg -- noting her “serious concerns” about his qualifications and his possible conflicts of interest as an investor in defense companies.

“These holdings would pose a conflict of interest between your duty as Deputy Secretary to advance the Department’s national security interests and your personal interest in delivering profits for the defense companies in which you or Cerberus have invested,” she wrote.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.