Trump purges Pentagon, puts MAGA pundit at FBI

Gen. Charles Q. Brown and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

Gen. Charles Q. Brown, who was fired by Trump, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

(Image credit: Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images)

What happened

President Donald Trump began the weekend by firing top military leaders including Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and ended it by announcing he was appointing right-wing pundit and podcaster Dan Bongino as deputy director of the FBI. Trump said he would nominate retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Caine as the next joint chiefs chair.

Who said what

Trump's "Friday night purge" of Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the top lawyers for the Army, Navy and Air Force and other senior officers thrust the Pentagon "into uncharted territory," The Washington Post said. Critics warned of the "encroachment of political warfare on an organization bound by the Constitution to remain nonpartisan."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended Trump's Pentagon firings on "Fox News Sunday," saying other presidents had also fired generals and Trump "deserves to pick his key national security advisory team." Asked about Georgetown Law professor Rosa Brooks' post on X that firing "any lawyers who might try to slow you down" is what you do when "you're planning to break the law," Hegseth said he wanted military "lawyers who give sound constitutional advice and don't exist to attempt to be roadblocks to anything."

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What next?

Appointing Bongino as No. 2 to FBI Director Kash Patel puts "two steadfast Trump loyalists" who "have never served as FBI agents" in charge of the nation's premier law enforcement agency, The New York Times said. They will be the "least experienced leadership pair" in bureau history. Patel was also "expected to be sworn in early this week as the acting director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives," the Post said.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.