WASHINGTON AP - The White House has acknowledged that President Donald Trump now meets with candidates for promotion to the rank of four-star general, in a break with past practice.
A White House spokesperson said the Republican president has the meetings because he wants to make sure the U.S. military retains its superiority and its leaders focus on fighting wars.
"President Trump wants to ensure our military is the greatest and most lethal fighting force in history, which is why he meets with four-star-general nominees directly to ensure they are war fighters first - not bureaucrats," assistant press secretary Anna Kelly said.
The meetings, however, are a departure from past practice, and knowledge of them has raised concerns about politicization of the military's top ranks. Trump has not always respected the long-standing tradition of walling off the military from partisan politics.
In June, Trump took the rare step of mobilizing the National Guard and then the Marines, sending hundreds of them into Los Angeles over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat with whom the president has feuded politically.