Welcome back to The Best & The Brightest, your daily political dispatch from Puck. I’m Julia Ioffe, still recovering from White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend—but only because staying up late and then getting up early with a toddler multiple days in a row briefly destroyed me.

This week, for the first time since President Trump launched a war against Iran two months ago, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, schlepped across the river to Capitol Hill to testify in front of the House and Senate Armed Services committees. They were ostensibly there to answer questions about the White House’s behemoth budget request, which would balloon the Pentagon’s spending by some 50 percent, to a record $1.5 trillion.

But of course, congressional hearings are about whatever members want them to be about, and one topic that kept coming up for Hegseth was Gen. Randy George. Hegseth fired the popular Army chief of staff earlier this month, in part for standing up for Black and female officers whom Hegseth had personally struck from the promotion list, and as part of his proxy war against Army secretary—and J.D. Vance pal—Dan Driscoll. Hegseth replaced George with Gen. Christopher LaNeve, who, as I wrote last week, has come to be viewed as a Hegseth loyalist. This has completely destroyed LaNeve’s reputation in the Army, even if his actual career has never been better.

Tonight, news and notes on LaNeve’s charm offensive to win hearts and minds in the Army ahead of his (presumed) confirmation hearing. The first front: luring back one of the very general officers he had nearly pushed out…

Also mentioned in this issue: Joni Ernst, Dan Caine, J. Patrick Work, Jack Keane, Tommy Tuberville, Ryan McCarthy, Joe Biden, Christine Wormuth, James Mingus, and more…

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Leigh Ann Caldwell

It’s Platner versus Collins…: In a development that immediately reverberated through political circles, Maine Gov. Janet Mills ended her Senate bid this morning, less than six weeks before the primary. Rumors of a suspension had circulated for weeks. Mills had been absent from television for nearly a month, constrained by a lack of resources to compete with upstart oyster farmer Graham Platner—a challenge she acknowledged bluntly in her statement. “I very simply do not have the one thing that political campaigns unfortunately require today: the financial resources,” she wrote, a dig aimed at Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who had pressed her to run but hadn’t committed support to her primary effort. According to a Republican source, internal G.O.P. polling last week showed Platner defeating Mills by an insurmountable 36 points.

In a statement, the Schumer-led Senate Democratic campaign arm said it would “work with” Platner to defeat Senator Susan Collins—hardly a ringing endorsement, but a necessary step if Democrats are to mount a viable challenge. Beating Collins has been a priority for Schumer ever since he was D.S.C.C. chair during her 2008 reelection campaign. Republicans do not expect Platner to be an easier opponent than Mills, though they acknowledge the race will take on a markedly different character than it would have against the 78-year-old governor, a contemporary of Collins. As one Republican put it, “It’s going to be trench warfare.”

Meanwhile, back in Washington, Collins voted today, for the first time, in favor of a Democratic resolution to end hostilities in Iran—a shift she had been telegraphing she would make if the conflict extended beyond 60 days, the point at which the administration is required to seek authorization for continued military action under the War Powers Act. Today marks the 61st day since the war in Iran started. (Hegseth told Congress this week that the period of the ceasefire doesn’t count toward the 60 day mark.) “Further military action against Iran must have a clear mission, achievable goals, and a defined strategy for bringing the conflict to a close. I voted to end the continuation of these military hostilities at this time until such a case is made,” she said.

And now the main event…

Love Him or LaNeve Him

Pete Hegseth’s decision to replace the highly regarded Gen. Randy George with Gen. Christopher LaNeve infuriated senior Army officials. As he prepares to be confirmed to the role, however, LaNeve is trying to mend fences and win converts.

Julia Ioffe

Last Friday, the top Army brass and civilian leadership gathered in Conmy Hall at Fort Myer, in Arlington, for the retirement ceremony of Gen. Randy George. There was little of the usual pomp and circumstance that would normally accompany the retirement of someone as high-ranking as George—a beloved four-star general and the outgoing chief of staff of the Army, the top uniformed officer for the largest branch of the U.S. military. But the attendees said it all: Some 500 guests gathered to wish George well.

Gen. Jack Keane, a former acting Army chief of staff and current Fox News commentator, gave a speech. As did Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, himself an Army veteran who had grown particularly close with George in the last year. Driscoll praised the general for his service and expressed gratitude that his children got to grow up knowing heroes like George. He also gave a shout-out to two previous secretaries of the Army who were in the audience: Christine Wormuth, who served under Biden, and Ryan McCarthy, who was secretary during the first Trump administration. It was the kind of bipartisan show of respect and affection one rarely sees in Washington these days.

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But this was no ordinary retirement. Earlier this month, Pete Hegseth, Trump’s bellicose defense secretary, fired George from his post for no apparent reason and replaced him with his own man, Gen. Christopher LaNeve. LaNeve, as I wrote last week, is seen by his peers as “fine,” “not too much of a superstar,” “white bread,” and “unremarkable.” Yet he’s been the one general in the Army whose career has been turbocharged, while Hegseth has fired or pushed far more promising general officers aside.

LaNeve’s career took a sudden, upward turn after what many in and around the Pentagon characterized as a fawning appearance at the Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball, when he congratulated Trump on his victory and the president praised him as being out of “central casting.” (Or, as one defense official put it, reflecting a widely held view in the officer corps, “It was ass-kissing.”) After that, LaNeve catapulted up the ranks, earning three big promotions (and a fourth star) in just one year—ultimately winding up as acting chief of staff of the Army after George’s ouster. Several people have noted that LaNeve is now squarely in line to succeed Gen. Dan Caine as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when his term runs out in less than 18 months.

In the process, LaNeve’s reputation as a better political operator than commander has only deepened, along with a growing perception that he’s participating in what one former official described as a “slow-motion coup” in the Army. Which is why LaNeve’s presence at George’s retirement was so deeply uncomfortable for everyone there. According to two attendees, LaNeve was obviously ill at ease in a sea of people who knew exactly what had happened and how. Few seemed eager to talk to him.

And that was likely just a taste of the unpleasantness to come for LaNeve, who is already preparing to be officially nominated as the next Army chief. “This will be his everyday,” said one former defense official who attended George’s retirement. “Trying to lead the men who know he’s partly responsible for getting the man they respected fired.”

LaNeve’s Likeability Tour

LaNeve, I’m told, is now on a mission to win back hearts and minds in the Army. His nomination to the post hasn’t yet been announced—and his detractors hope that it won’t ever be—but LaNeve’s staff is already preparing for the all-but-inevitable confirmation hearings. One front in that mission, per two sources familiar, has been trying to quash rumors that he has used his proximity to Hegseth to sideline better-liked, more-promising generals and settle old scores. (A spokesman for LaNeve declined to comment on the record.)

As I reported last week, citing three sources familiar with the situation, LaNeve specifically went after a two-star named J. Patrick Work, a paratrooper and Ranger who was seen as a rising talent with a loyal and devoted following. Apparently the Army had asked LaNeve, the outgoing commander of the 82nd Airborne, to leave his official housing to make way for Work, the incoming commander, before LaNeve had been confirmed to his next post—a slight LaNeve hadn’t forgotten. As LaNeve ascended, according to several sources, Work, who is currently deputy commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps, was steadily sidelined. Once George was fired, Work apparently saw the writing on the wall and filed his retirement paperwork.

But in recent days, according to two knowledgeable sources, LeNeve personally asked Work to cancel his retirement plans. Suddenly, Work is back on track for promotion and a third star, though his next post is still to be determined. What changed? Well, for one, my reporting put a media spotlight on LaNeve. But more importantly, LaNeve needs to recast his own narrative ahead of confirmation hearings to serve as Army chief of staff, the post he currently only holds on an acting basis.

He doesn’t have an easy path to the permanent spot. At a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday, several congresspeople, including three Republicans, pressed Hegseth about why he fired George, who was widely liked on the Hill and had developed strong relationships on both sides of the aisle. (Hegseth at one point responded, “Out of respect for these officers, we never talk about the nature of their removal.” He also repeated the falsehood that Obama fired nearly 200 generals. He didn’t.)

Thursday’s hearing in the Senate, where LaNeve would face his confirmation vote, was hardly better. Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, who famously faced death threats when it looked like she wouldn’t vote to confirm Hegseth (she ultimately got to yes), also went after the SecDef for firing George and his vice chief, Gen. James Mingus, two Iowans. Each was replaced, in succession, by LaNeve. Before launching into her line of questioning, Ernst read George’s accomplishments into the record, then entered the speech she gave at George’s retirement ceremony as well.

The fact that George’s firing was still prompting these public questions—rebukes, really—nearly a month later, and that Congress was publicly second-guessing such seemingly inside-baseball personnel decisions, was yet another testament to the chaos Hegseth has unleashed at the Pentagon. The Army, and the Pentagon more broadly, have become a center of machination and intrigue. “There’s never been any drama like this in the officer ranks in my time,” a senior Defense official said. “It wasn’t like this until Trump,” said one former Army officer familiar with the situation. “He’s cracked the unity. We never really talked about any palace drama, but now it’s infected the ranks from top to bottom.”

That, however, is the Trumpian way: inspiring contenders to devour each other for the big boss’s fickle favor, rewarding personal loyalty and then calling it a meritocracy. That’s fine for a reality TV show—or a political campaign—but doing this in the world’s most powerful military while it’s at war presents another level of risk altogether. Military veterans worry about what this means for the long term. “Trump has empowered the weakest players to advance themselves without merit,” said the former officer. “He’s changed the system from merit to Machiavelli. Try to be the best—and if you’re not, eliminate the best that are in front of you. That’s more like a Russian military hierarchy that over time becomes weak and corrupt.”

Which is why, as happy as people in and around the Army are that Work’s career has been saved for now, few expect LaNeve’s charm offensive to work. Too much damage has been done, both by LaNeve and by his boss and benefactor, Hegseth. Said one retired Army general who knows both LaNeve and Work, “It’s way too late.”

That’s all from me this week, friends. I’ll see you back here next week. Until then, good night. Tomorrow will be worse.

Julia

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