Former President Donald Trump blasted a report saying mandatory military service could be implemented in a second Trump administration.
The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Christopher Miller, acting defense secretary in the final days of the Trump administration, is among "a cluster of influential former administration officials and GOP lawmakers who have mused aloud about a national service mandate" to help solve what they see as a "crisis" facing the all-volunteer military.
The Post said Miller detailed his vision for a range of military changes as part of The Heritage Foundation's Project 2025.
Miller told the Post that a service requirement should be "strongly considered."
With Miller a possible candidate to head the Pentagon in a second Trump administration, the Post suggested the former president could embrace the military mandate.
Trump responded on Truth Social.
"The Fake News Washington Post came up with the ridiculous idea that Donald J. Trump will call for Mandatory Military Service," Trump wrote. "This is only a continuation of their EIGHT YEAR failed attempt to damage me with the Voters. The Story is completely untrue.
"In fact, I never even thought of that idea. Only a degenerate former Newspaper, which has lost 50% of its Readers, would fabricate such a tale. Just another Fake Story, one of many, made up by the DEAD Washington Compost!"
From 1948 to 1973, during peacetime and periods of conflict, U.S. men were drafted to fill vacancies in the armed forces that could not be filled through voluntary means.
Beginning in late 1979, a series of "revitalization" efforts were begun to help rapid mobilization in an emergency. In the summer of 1980, registration was resumed. Men must register within 30 days of their 18th birthday, according to the Selective Service System.
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Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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