There’s no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of a U.S. election, says Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, the top U.S. General.
Milley made the comments Sunday during an interview with NPR’s Steve Inskeep about being forced to self-quarantine, the military’s role in the upcoming elections and U.S. troop size in Afghanistan.
Some top Pentagon leaders are concerned that President Donald Trump might order American troops into any chaos around the 2020 Elections, according to recent reports. Trump has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power no matter who wins the election because he says he’s not sure the election could be “honest” due to mail-in balloting.
“I'm very confident in the resilience of the American institutions and the American government and the American people's adherence to the principles of rules of law, and we, the military, stay out of domestic politics very, very deeply rooted into the very essence of our republic,” Milley told Inskeep.
“And I would tell you that in my mind, the if there's a disputed election - it's not in my mind, it's in the law - if there's a disputed election that'll be handled by Congress and the courts. And I'm quite confident that that's will be the case this time around, as it has been several times before. This isn't the first time that someone has suggested that there might be a contested election. And if there is, it'll be handled appropriately by the courts and by the US Congress. There's no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of a U.S. election. Zero, there is no rule there.”
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.