Donald Trump’s administration has not ruled out putting American troops on the ground in Iran, and recent comments from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in response to concerns from a Fox News host about the possibility of a draft are raising eyebrows.
During a recent appearance on Sunday Morning Futures, Leavitt was asked again whether the administration was considering deploying U.S. troops, with host Maria Bartiromo framing the question around the possibility of a draft.
“Mothers are worried that we’re going to have a draft, that they’re going to see their sons and daughters get involved in this,” Bartiromo said. “What do you want to say about the president’s plans for troops on the ground? As we know it’s largely been an air campaign up until now.”
In response, Leavitt said “President Trump wisely does not remove options off of the table.”
“I know a lot of politicians like to do that quickly but the president as commander in chief wants to continue to assess the success of this military operation,” she added. “It’s not part of the current plan right now but again the president wisely keeps his options on the table.”
When asked to clarify Leavitt’s remarks, including whether the president is considering imposing a draft, a White House spokesperson directed The Independent back to Leavitt’s remarks.
Americans have not been conscripted into war since the early 1970s, when 1.8 million men were called up to military service in Vietnam in a process that became increasingly unpopular.
During an interview with CBS 60 Minutes, when asked about the likelihood of boots on the ground, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said “you don’t tell the enemy, you don’t tell the press, you don’t tell anybody what your limits would be on an operation.”
Advocacy groups for active-duty service members and veterans have criticized the administration’s shifting justifications for war with Iran and urged Congress to swiftly pass a War Powers resolution to rein in the president’s actions.
“Refusing to rule out boots on the ground, let alone a draft, sends a chilling message to service members and their families: your lives and futures are bargaining chips in an open-ended conflict with no clear endgame or congressional authorization,” Naveed Shah, political director for veterans’ advocacy group Common Defense, told The Independent.
“We’ve seen this playbook before, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, where initial promises of quick, limited action gave way to boots-on-the-ground, then troop surges, prolonged occupations, and massive human costs,” he said.
“A draft would be catastrophic: it would disproportionately hit working-class communities, divide the nation further, and undermine the all-volunteer force we’ve relied on since 1973,” according to Shah. “The U.S. military is strong and capable, but it’s not infinite, especially with recruitment challenges and existing global commitments.”
Trump falsely accused his Democratic opponents of forcing Americans into military service throughout his 2024 campaign.
During a rally in September 2024, he baselessly alleged Kamala Harris was talking about a draft. “That’s what they’re doing,” he said from Las Vegas. “She’s already talking about bringing back the draft. She wants to bring back the draft, and draft your child, and put them in a war that should never have happened.”
