U.S. President Donald Trump will attend a meeting today attended by hundreds of U.S. generals and admirals serving in various regions of the world, which will take place after a highly unusual invitation to a military base near Washington, D.C.

No official has explained the purpose of the meeting, which comes as the U.S. political leadership is increasingly involved in the military’s activities, from deploying troops to U.S. cities to the dismissal of high-ranking military officers.

The meeting is being organised at the initiative of US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and appears to have particularly pleased Trump. “I love it. I mean it’s amazing,” the US president commented on Thursday.

Trump will travel to the Quantico military base and is expected to deliver a speech, according to the official schedule.

US Vice President J.D. Vance tried to downplay the seriousness of this meeting, telling reporters that “it is not at all unusual” and adding that it is “surprising” that the press is commenting on it so extensively.

Sean Parnell, a spokesman for the Defense Department, said simply in a statement that Hegseth “will deliver a speech before his senior officers.”

The extraordinary nature of this meeting and the absence of an official excuse have prompted much speculation about its purpose and the possibility of a major announcement involving the Pentagon.

The Defense Department, which is not usually subject to direct political interference, was particularly affected by Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.

Democrats have strongly criticised the deployment of troops in many US cities, which is particularly rare in the US, while foreign criticism has been aimed at the deadly strikes in the Caribbean against ships that Washington says were carrying drugs. In addition, Trump has ordered strikes against nuclear facilities in Iran and against the Houthis in Yemen.

The Republican’s return has also caused turmoil within the Pentagon, with the department being renamed the “Department of War.”

In May, Hegseth called for significant reductions in the number of the most senior officers in the U.S. military, most notably a reduction of at least 20 percent in the number of generals and admirals. The Pentagon has also announced that it wants to reduce by at least 5% the number of civilian employees.

At the same time, many officers have been pushed into retirement or dismissed. The US president in February dismissed without explanation the chief of staff of the US armed forces, Charles “CQ” Brown.