This is an adapted excerpt from the Sept. 25 episode of “Deadline: White House.”

On Thursday, The Washington Post was first to report that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has summoned hundreds of military officials for a meeting at a Marine Corps base in Virginia next week. “The highly unusual directive was sent to virtually all of the military’s top commanders worldwide,” more than a dozen people familiar with the plan told the Post.

The meeting is the latest in a series of chaotic decisions that have come out of the Pentagon since Hegseth took the reins in January. Last week, the Defense Department released a memo stating that journalists covering the agency can no longer gather or report information, even if it is unclassified, without approval from the government. Days later, the department also announced Hegseth would shutter a committee created to expand the role of women in the military. And then, of course, who could forget Hegseth allegedly sharing highly sensitive information on an unsecure messaging app?

In the wake of this latest announcement from the Pentagon, I can tell you that behind closed doors, my former Republican colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee are likely asking themselves, “What is going on?”

The first major issue here is the sheer expense of such a meeting. The Trump administration likes to posture about how it wants to save money and fire people, and yet it’s going to spend likely millions of dollars to bring all of these military leaders in from around the world. That’s especially concerning given we’re facing a possible government shutdown.

Recommended

MS NOW Opinion

Pete Hegseth’s speech wasn’t just insulting to the military. It was radical.

Zeeshan Aleem

Maddowblog

White House pretends Pete Hegseth’s mystery meeting is normal. It really isn’t.

Steve Benen

Then there are possible security issues. Our country’s top military leaders will be in one place at a now highly publicized meeting. That should definitely raise concern.

But one of the most pressing issues that could stem from Hegseth’s meeting is the message of instability it broadcasts to the rest of the world. In Donald Trump, we already have a leader who is all over the map when it comes to military matters. First, he’s against Ukraine, then he’s for Ukraine; he’s against NATO, then he’s for NATO.

As retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling said on Thursday’s “Deadline: White House,” other countries around the globe would see this meeting as a “bright red light” — an indicator that something is going on with the U.S. military. That damages our image on the world stage.

The truth is, there is nothing Hegseth could say in that meeting that couldn’t be communicated to the troops more effectively and efficiently — and nobody knows that better than the leaders who are being called into Washington simply so the secretary can prove he’s in charge.