Pete Hegseth tells Mark Milley the Pentagon is pulling his security ...

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Pete Hegseth pledges to support President Trump's immigration policy

Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Defense Department will support "mass deportations in support of the president's objective."

The Pentagon is pulling the security clearance and detail of Gen. Mark Milley, the retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the latest longstanding enemy of President Donald Trump to suffer retribution in his new presidential term.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth broke the news to Milley that the Pentagon is revoking the authorization for his security detail and suspending his security clearance, Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot announced late Tuesday.

Hegseth also directed the Defense Department's Office of the Inspector General, which conducts internal investigations into the department, to investigate the "facts and circumstances surrounding Gen. Milley’s conduct" to determine whether his clearance should be restored, according to Ullyot.

The office received the request and was reviewing it, Mollie Halpern, a spokesperson for the office, told USA TODAY on Monday. She declined further comment.

Trump accused Milley of treason for his direct calls to China to assure his counterpart the U.S. was not planning an attack during Trump's first term – Milley said the calls fell within his duties.

"Undermining the chain of command is corrosive to our national security, and restoring accountability is a priority for the Defense Department under President Trump’s leadership," Joe Kasper, the Defense Department's chief of staff, said in the statement sent minutes before midnight on Tuesday.

As one of his first executive orders, Trump revoked the security clearances of 50 former intelligence officials, including former CIA directors John Brennan and Michael Hayden and former Secretary of Defense Leon Pannetta. Almost all of them were accused by Republicans of discrediting reports critical of Hunter Biden.

Trump also canceled federal funding for the security details of some of his political foes, including Anthony Fauci, who headed his first administration's COVID response, and John Bolton, his former national security advisor.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday that Trump believes Milley, Bolton and others aren’t entitled to security clearances and protection for the rest of their lives.

“As for Gen. Milley, the president’s position on this remains the same as it does for John Bolton and the other individuals,” Leavitt said. “He doesn’t believe that these people should have the right to have security clearances and private details for the rest of their lives."

"Taxpayers are funding it," she added. "The individuals you’re mentioning are quite wealthy, I understand, so they can get their own private security if they wish.”

Asked if the move was punitive, Leavitt said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is focused on rebuilding the military.

“We’re focused on lethality. We’re focused on strength again,” Leavitt said. “We’re focused on rebuilding our military, which is something we haven’t seen over the past four years.”

Less than two hours after Trump was sworn into office, a portrait of Milley was mysteriously removed from the Pentagon's wall. The Department declined comment on it.

Milley granted preemptive pardon after Trump threat

Milley drew ire and veiled threats of execution from Trump for criticizing his handling of the Jan. 6 riot and implying he is a "wannabe dictator."

Hours before he left office, former President Joe Biden granted Milley a preemptive pardon, along with other political enemies of Trump, including Fauci and lawmakers on the committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack, such as Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney.

More: Portrait of Gen. Mark Milley taken down from Pentagon wall hours after Trump inauguration

Milley said he was "deeply grateful" for the pardon, adding "I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights."

Trump was infuriated after a 2021 book by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Robert Costa revealed that Milley called his Chinese counterpart during Trump's first term to reassure China that the U.S. did not have plans to attack.

Milley said he was simply fulfilling the duties of his office.

But Trump accused Milley of "treason" and implied Milley he be executed for the calls in a 2023 Truth Social post.

"This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!" he wrote. Milley said he was taking "safety precautions" after Trump posted the message.

At his retirement ceremony a week later, Milley took a shot back, saying servicemembers do not "take an oath to a wannabe dictator.” He did not name Trump.

Milley told the committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol that he refused an order by Mark Meadows, Trump's then-chief of staff, to "establish the narrative" that Trump was in charge and the situation was stable.

In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests that rocked Washington, D.C., in the summer of 2020, Milley said he made a "mistake" in joining Trump for a photo op at a historic church a block from the White House after officers used force and tear gas to clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square.

Contributing: Bart Jansen