In an unprecedented purge of the military’s senior leadership Friday night, President Donald Trump fired the top US general just moments before his defense secretary fired the chief of the US Navy and the vice chief of the Air Force.

The Pentagon said on Friday it would start firing about 5,400 civilian employees who were on probation, the first moves by President Donald Trump's administration at the department to make good on its promise to reduce the federal workforce.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown speaks during a press briefing, April 26, 2024, at the Pentagon in Washington. Credit: AP/Kevin Wolf WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump abruptly fired Air Force Gen.

While flying back to Washington aboard Air Force One on Wednesday night, a reporter asked President Donald Trump whether Elon Musk would pursue budget cuts at the Pentagon. His response might be confusing to anyone who hasn’t spent the last several days monitoring Musk’s account on X.

President Donald Trump kicked off his latest evening bloodbath on Friday with the firing of the highest-ranking military officer in the country, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Charles Brown, Jr. The unprecedented move came as one small part of a shakeup of the Pentagon's top brass.

President Donald Trump said Elon Musk would be checking out Fort Knox to make sure the gold is still there. While flying back to Washington aboard Air Force One on Wednesday night, a reporter asked President Donald Trump whether Elon Musk would pursue budget cuts at the Pentagon.

Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO), opens new tab said on Thursday its business with the U.S. Department of Defense was "inaccurately represented," in response to accusations on social media by Elon Musk and President Donald Trump that the company played a role in "large scale social deception" for the government.

Sen. Jack Reed, ranking Democrat on Armed Services Committee, said Trump’s purge of senior Pentagon leaders is a threat to the nonpartisan nature of the military.

Trump meets Macron; Musk downplays ultimatum given to federal workers: Live updates - The French president told The Independent that Trump had been ‘very friendly, as always,’ despite not greeting him