Trump Shared Totally Made-Up Conversation in Cabinet Meeting

Hegseth had been pressuring Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll for months to fire the four officers, but given their years of exemplary service, Driscoll refused, military officials told the newspaper. Times. Hegseth ultimately removed their names himself, probably without legal permission to do so.

Per military policy, the defense secretary is technically supposed to approve or reject the entire list to prevent discrimination and bias — two things the former Fox News host embraced during his disastrous tenure as defense secretary.

Since his appointment in January 2025, Hegseth has gutted diversity, equity and inclusion policies, pledging to withdraw female combat officers, and forbidden trans people to serve in the military. “For too long, we have promoted too many uniformed leaders for the wrong reasons – based on race, based on gender quotas, based on so-called historic firsts,” he said in a speech last November.