The 2025 Aspen Security Forum kicks off today and finds itself unexpectedly thrust into the ideological fights gripping the administration.

The Defense Department announced Monday that it would be withdrawing numerous senior military and civilian officials who had been set to speak at the conference.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told Jewish Insider: “Senior Department of Defense officials will no longer be participating at the Aspen Security Forum because their values do not align with the values of the DoD. The Department will remain strong in its focus to increase the lethality of our warfighters, revitalize the warrior ethos, and project ‘Peace Through Strength’ on the world stage. It is clear the ASF is not in alignment with these goals.” Spokesperson Kinglsey Wilson offered even more pointed criticism to right-leaning outlet Just the News, saying the conference “promotes the evil of globalism, disdain for our great country, and hatred for the President of the United States.”

It’s tough criticism of a forum that prides itself on bipartisanship and aims to foster cross-partisan dialogue and solution-making, even as those attributes are in short supply in today’s Washington. The forum said in a statement, “we will miss the participation of the Pentagon, but our invitations remain open. … The Aspen Security Forum remains committed to providing a platform for informed, non-partisan debate about the most important security challenges facing the world,” noting that voices across the political spectrum will be speaking this week.

Many had been hoping to hear Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, who was originally scheduled for a panel discussing the evolution of warfare, speak about his agency’s leaked report suggesting the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities had minimal effects, but Kruse was among the speakers withdrawn by the Pentagon.

Among the administration speakers still scheduled to appear are hostage envoy Adam Boehler, speaking on Thursday, and Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy to Syria. Barrack will be speaking on a Friday panel about the Middle East alongside former CIA Director David Petraeus and former Deputy National Security Advisor Dina Powell McCormick.

Wednesday’s Israel-focused panel will feature former IDF Intelligence Chief Amos Yadlin, former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog, former Biden administration official Brett McGurk and author and “Call Me Back” podcast host Dan Senor. 

An Iran-focused panel on Thursday will include former U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, former CEO of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Rachel Bronson and Johns Hopkins professor Vali Nasr.

There’s likely to be plenty of discussion throughout the week about the ways the Trump administration’s strikes on Iran will shape policy in the Middle East — and throughout the world — going forward, and about the ongoing impacts of the war in Gaza.

Former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will be speaking on Friday on a panel with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson will also be speaking Friday, on AI and cybersecurity issues, respectively. Former Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo will speak on Thursday about international aid and trade.

Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Mark Warner (D-VA) will lead the conference’s annual “View from the Senate” panel on Friday.

We’ll be keeping an ear out for discussion about the internal debates between hawks and isolationists taking place within the Trump administration over America’s role and engagement in key global arenas — from the Middle East to Ukraine and Asia. We’ll also be tracking  proposed efforts to restructure the U.S. intelligence community.

Expect a significant focus throughout the week on the many ways that the Trump administration’s unpredictable foreign policy — from its recommitment to providing Ukraine military aid to the status of tariffs against key countries, along with the recent, sweeping cuts to the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development — is shaking up global affairs, how the private sector and foreign countries are adapting and how leaders can attempt to maintain bipartisanship on foreign policy.