The Trump administration has granted U.S. military commanders more leeway to conduct airstrikes against suspected militant threats, a shift from the Biden administration policy that required greater sign-off from the White House and Pentagon, U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine.
The move gives U.S. military commanders greater flexibility to conduct airstrikes without getting case-by-case approval from Washington. Under former President Joe Biden, some high profile airstrikes required approval from senior White House and Pentagon officials.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed the new policy, which was first reported by CBS News, in a post on social media Feb. 28.
It is unclear how soon the policy came into effect after Trump took office, and how many military actions have been conducted under the new policy. The White House and Pentagon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
U.S. Central Command directed several airstrikes in Syria in the past month against Hurras al-Din (HaD) group, an al-Qaida affiliate. It has regularly struck what it described as high-level militants even as it carried out its mission against the Islamic State group to prevent it from making a comeback. At least three CENTCOM strikes against Hurras al-Din have been conducted since Trump took office.
“Congratulations to CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla, and the U.S. warfighters who dealt Justice to another Jihadi threatening America and our allies and partners,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social after a Feb. 15 airstrike against a member of Hurras al-Din.
U.S. Africa Command has also struck ISIS with increasing frequency. The first military action undertaken during the second Trump administration was a round of airstrikes against ISIS-Somalia on Feb. 1 in the Golis mountains of Somalia. Those airstrikes were conducted at the president’s direction, Trump and the Pentagon said.
Hegseth visited U.S. Africa Command headquaters and met with AFRICOM commander Marine Corps Gen. Michael E. Langley in Germany on Feb. 11 on his first overseas trip as Pentagon chief.
AFRICOM also conducted a Feb. 16 airstrike against multiple leaders of ISIS-Somalia, and the U.S. military has carried out multiple “collective self-defense” airstrikes against the terrorist group al-Shabaab in collaboration with Somalia’s government since Trump has been in office.