While the relationship initially went well, it soured deeply and fast, as Milley tried to advise and contain the president on a host of issues. Trump said those calls were an act of treason, but at the time Milley said the calls were routine and part of the scope of his job. In his final days as chairman after Trump had left office, Milley was equally outspoken about his former boss.
Milley had security protections after Trump in his first term ordered a military strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani. Trump has revoked those protections and security clearances for other former officials in his first administration who also were facing threats from Iran, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, his top aide, Brian Hook, and former national security adviser John Bolton. Again, taxpayers are funding it. And the individuals you are mentioning are quite wealthy I understand, so they can get their own private security if they wish.
The moves against Milley, which were first reported by Fox News, also included removing his Army chief of staff portrait at the Pentagon. On Wednesday, the wall where it used to hang was empty, with the holes for fasteners still visible. Another portrait of Milley, as chairman, was stripped from the wall just hours after Trump was sworn in. In its place there were also just nail holes in the wall.
Both Milley portraits and the Esper Army secretary portrait were funded through donations from the Association of the United States Army, not taxpayer dollars, and were a gift from the Army honoring their service. Based on what positions the men had at the time of the portraits seemed to determine where those pieces of artwork will eventually end up. Both Army leadership portraits remain the property of the Army and will be returned eventually to the Army Center of Military History.
The Milley portrait as Joint Chiefs chairman, however, belongs now to the Department of Defense and it was unclear what was being done with it.
