After Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield was ousted, a key House Democrat said, Yet again, our country is less safe because of President Trumps actions.
A month before Election Day 2024, Trump said, "The military is bad. We have generals that do such a bad job." He went on to complain that military leaders "never get fired."
Six months later, his wildly unnecessary and indefensible military purge is ongoing. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-04-08T12:51:43.456Z
A month before Election Day 2024, Trump said, "The military is bad. We have generals that do such a bad job." He went on to complain that military leaders "never get fired."
Six months later, his wildly unnecessary and indefensible military purge is ongoing.
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-fires-us-admiral-nato-part-intensifying-military-purge-rcna200165
Indeed, a month before Election Day, he said during an interview,
The military is bad. We have generals that do such a bad job. In the same interview, Trump went on to complain that U.S. military leaders never get fired.
Evidently, he meant it. The Associated Press reported:
U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, the only woman on NATOs military committee, was fired over the weekend by the Trump administration, U.S. officials said Monday. Although no reason was given, officials said it was apparently tied to comments she has made that supported diversity in the force.
The APs account noted that Chatfield was notified of her ouster by Adm. Christopher Grady, the acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who told the admiral that
the Trump administration wanted to go in a different direction.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly made the decision, and the AP report noted that its
unclear whether he received any direction from the president......
So why was she removed from her post? According to The Washington Post, Chatfield had been targeted by a conservative group called the American Accountability Foundation, which lobbied Hegseth for her removal, pointing to a 2015 speech in which Chatfield said that
our diversity is our strength.......
Several weeks ago, five former defense secretaries including retired Gen. Jim Mattis, Trumps first defense secretary condemned the administrations military firings as reckless. Their joint letter, addressed to Congress, asked that the House and the Senate hold immediate hearings to assess the national security implications of Trumps dismissals.
Mr. Trumps dismissals raise troubling questions about the administrations desire to politicize the military and to remove legal constraints on the presidents power, they said in the letter.
Talented Americans may be far less likely to choose a life of military service if they believe they will be held to a political standard.
Trump appears to have ignored their concerns, and GOP leaders on Capitol Hill have scheduled no such hearings.