WASHINGTON — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has summoned top military commanders for an unusual meeting early next week, just before the U.S. government might shut down over a funding dispute between President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats.

“The secretary of war will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a brief statement on Thursday. He did not provide a reason for the meeting or say what Hegseth planned to tell the high-ranking officers.

Trump and Vice President JD Vance played down the meeting’s significance when asked about it in the Oval Office on Thursday.

“Why is that such a big deal?” Trump said. “You act like this is a bad thing,” he added, saying it was nice that generals would be gathering with the Pentagon chief.

“It’s actually not unusual at all, and I think it’s odd you guys made it into such a big story,” said Vance.

The Washington Post reported earlier Thursday that Hegseth had asked “hundreds” of admirals and generals posted around the world to assemble at the Marine base in Quantico, Virginia, near Washington, on Tuesday.

That’s the final day of the fiscal year, and the day before a possible shutdown, when government travel is normally prohibited, could begin. Travel could be allowed during a shutdown if deemed essential.

The scale of the travel has come under scrutiny, given the logistical and financial challenges and the potential operational security risk of having so many top military officials in one place and away from their posts.

Due to the scale of their responsibilities, some senior officers travel with large teams, including security details and aides tasked with ensuring access to secure communications.

Among those attending the meeting will be Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle, said his spokesman Captain Dave Hecht. Also confirmed to attend are top generals in the Air Force, according to a defense official. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George is also attending, said another official.

A well-connected industrial official said he was told the gathering is about the upcoming National Defense Strategy.

Since taking the top post at the Pentagon in January, Hegseth, a former National Guard officer and Fox News commentator, has aggressively carried out Trump’s agenda across the armed forces, replacing top commanders, shutting down programs that promoted diversity in the ranks and denouncing a military culture that he claimed had strayed from its “war-fighting” mission.

He plays a key role in Trump’s determination to expand the American military’s presence in domestic affairs, something that other presidents had largely avoided. Active-duty soldiers have been posted to the U.S.-Mexico border, National Guardsmen have been deployed on the streets of Washington and Marines in Los Angeles, and the president often speaks of sending troops into other cities run by Democrats.

Hegseth, who’s often seen in the president’s company, has been among the administration figures to champion the destruction by U.S. forces of boats from Venezuela that they said were ferrying narcotics.

Trump early this month signed an executive order to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War, calling the move a reversion to a time before America went “woke.” Congress, however, must formally approve the change. The Pentagon now refers to Hegseth as secretary of War.

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With assistance from Roxana Tiron and Gregory White.

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