Trump Will Speak at Hastily-Called Gathering of Top Generals. Here’s What We Know

President Donald Trump will speak at a rare meeting of top generals called by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for Tuesday, adding a political dimension to the event at a time when he is facing criticism for making unprecedented use of the U.S. military for domestic purposes.

Hegseth summoned hundreds of generals and admirals with little notice from around the world for the gathering at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, this week, causing alarm in the ranks.

It is not unusual for top military leaders to hold meetings, but experts have described the hastily-called gathering of all generals from around the world as almost unprecedented. Trump's attendance makes the event even more out of the ordinary.

Here's what we know about the meeting.

Trump is a late addition

Trump appeared to have been taken by surprise by the gathering when asked about it on Thursday by reporters in the Oval Office, when news of it first broke. But he spoke of it approvingly, nonetheless.

“Let him be friendly with the generals and admirals from all over the world,” Trump said of the meeting. “You act like this is a bad thing. Isn’t it nice that people are coming from all over the world to be with us?”

Sometime between Thursday and Sunday, Trump decided that he wanted to attend the gathering.

“It’s really just a very nice meeting talking about how well we’re doing militarily, talking about being in great shape, talking about a lot of good, positive things. It’s just a good message,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News on Sunday.

“We have some great people coming in and it’s just an ‘esprit de corps.’ You know the expression ‘esprit de corps’? That’s all it’s about. We’re talking about what we’re doing, what they’re doing, and how we’re doing,” he said.

Trump has received criticism for politicizing the military in the past. He delivered a highly political speech in June to a crowd of uniformed soldiers at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, in which he attacked his predecessor, Joe Biden, and "radical left lunatic" politicians.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment from TIME.

'Warrior ethos'

Hegseth's announcement initially caused concern that a shake-up was forthcoming.

The former Fox News contributor has been outspoken about his intention to reshape the U.S. military by cutting costs and focusing on what he characterizes as "lethality." In previous speeches, he has expressed his desire for the military to "leave wokeness and weakness behind."

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed the meeting in a statement on Thursday, saying that Hegseth would be “addressing his senior military leaders early next week,” without offering additional details. The order applied to senior commanders of the one-star rank or higher, and their top advisers.

The Washington Post, which first reported the gathering, later reported that the purpose of the meeting was for the generals to hear Hegseth deliver a speech on military standards and the “warrior ethos.”

A backdrop of concern

The meeting comes amid concern over Trump's increasing use of the military for domestic purposes in his second term. In recent months, he has deployed troops to cities across the country, raising concerns about the stifling of dissent against his unpopular government.

Trump announced on Saturday that he had directed the Pentagon to send troops to “protect” Portland, Oregon, adding that he was authorizing “full force, if necessary.”

“At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Saturday morning.

Read more: What It Means for Trump to Label Antifa a ‘Major Terrorist Organization’

In June, Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles to quell immigration protests—a move that was later deemed illegal by a federal judge. Then in August, he deployed the National Guard and federal agencies to Washington, D.C., and federalized the police force ostensibly to combat crime, even as crime had been falling in recent years.

Since then, Trump has threatened to deploy the military to several more Democratic-run cities in retaliation for criticism from local leaders, justifying the deployments based on his own perception of crime in those cities.