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The Pentagon told several top military officials on Monday that they could not attend the Aspen Institute’s Aspen Security Forum this week.

Jon Kelly, chairman of the Pitkin County Republicans, said he was not surprised by the move given the “far-left” bend of the Aspen Institute. 

“It’s been no secret that I think the (Aspen) Institute is an extreme left leaning organization,” said Kelly. “It doesn’t particularly surprise me that the administration won’t want to participate at this point.”

The forum hosts conversations about national security and foreign policy with military officials from Democratic and Republican administrations as well as ambassadors, journalists, military officials from the U.S.-allied nations, and others. 

According to Kelly, the Trump administration’s approach to foreign policy is at odds with the foreign policy that the Aspen Institute has been preaching at the Aspen Security Forum. 

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“I think the issue is that the Security Forum and the Institute have a very specific view of global relations, right?” Kelly said. “It’s what people usually call liberal internationalism.”

The Pentagon had a different word for the Institute’s foreign policy: “globalism.”

“The Department of Defense has no interest in legitimizing an organization that has invited former officials who have been the architects of chaos abroad and failure at home,” Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement. “Senior representatives of the Department of Defense will no longer be participating in an event that promotes the evil of globalism, disdain for our great country, and hatred for the president of the United States.”

According to their website, the forum has “provided a nonpartisan public venue for domestic and global leaders to discuss the key national security and foreign policy issues of the day since 2010.”

Wilson and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, however, both have expressed the idea that the Aspen Institute is a “globalist” project. Following Wilson’s comments, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell reasserted the government’s position against the conference.

“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,” Parnell said in the statement. “It is clear the ASF is not in alignment with these goals.”

The Aspen Security Forum’s 2025 agenda includes talks with Robert Gates, secretary of defense appointed by President George W. Bush and retained by President Barack Obama, Trump nominated Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and former Republican Congressman Charlie Dent, among many others. 

In a statement in response to the news of the Trump administration’s abstention from the forum, the Aspen Security Forum emphasized that they have always welcomed senior military and civilian officials from both parties to share diverse perspectives on national security. 

“This year, we extended invitations to senior Trump administration officials, including several cabinet-level leaders,” the Aspen Security Forum said in its statement. “We will miss the participation of the Pentagon, but our invitations remain open. Today the Department of Defense gave their speakers guidance that they ‘will no longer be participating.’ We are honored to host dozens of top national security voices, experts, business leaders and innovators, from across the political spectrum—and from across the world—at this year’s Forum.” 

Due to Monday’s announcement, the forum will be lacking Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Samuel Paparo, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, Gen. Bryan Fenton, and several others. 

The Aspen Security Forum declined to comment beyond their written statement.