there are many firsts in admiral franchetti's career.e've profiled her when she became a fleet commander. highly thought of among her -- among personnel at the d.o.d., including young women who aspire to those sort of levels. cq brown, again, very highly regarded. there was no reason given for the dismissal of these two individuals. >> yeah. >> we do know that secretary hegseth has name-checked cq brown saying he's criticizing him for his dei programs and was he given that promotion because he was black? he says we'll never know. he also took aim at admiral franchetti suggesting she is a dei hire, by virtue of the fact she is a woman. in addition to that was the second in command of the air force who was also removed. a lot of changes. you mentioned the word purge, and that's what it is from the top. >> who is this nominee who i guess in the process of becoming the nominee, to step into the role? >> that's a good question. there are a lot of people inside the d.o.d. asking who this nominee is. retired lieutenant general dan caine. he ret

we have not heard if there was anything like that with franchetti, and frankly we haven't got a lot of information from pete hegseth about why he made this move. again, we are drawn back to comments that have made in the run-up to the election as well as after the election about dei hires, and is notable that franchetti was the first woman to be on the joint chiefs of staff. host: i want to play for you -- who talked about the firings at the pentagon as politicizing the military and then i will get your response. >> it's completely unjustified. these men and women were superb professionals, they were committed to their o3 defend the constitution of the united states, and apparently what trump and hegseth are trying to do is to politicize the department of defense. and it's not surprising. they picked kash patel who is a partisan, who has no respect for the traditions of the fbi, and now they've turned dod and they want everyone in dod to be beholden to the president, not the constitution. they want everyone there to do what they are told regardless of the law. what was also startling o

lisa franchetti. >> saying she. >> served 40 years in the. united states military.t recently. these are people with an incredible amount of experience. they performed at the highest levels each and every day. it's not the performance from these folks that is the reason why they're fired. >> and that. >> only leaves politics as the reason. >> they're the top attorneys for the army, and the. navy and the air force were also fired. why would you fire the top attorneys? and what does it mean to not have them? >> well, that's another. really great question that we don't have an answer to. these are men. >> and women that are. >> three stars in the services the army, the navy, the air force. they're charged with, among other things, making legal decisions about ensuring whether orders are lawful or not. you know, pete hegseth was on fox news yesterday saying that part of the reason why they got rid of these people is because they were being roadblocks. look, i find lawyers as cumbersome as anybody else, but they're the there's a reason why they are in place not to be road

both cq brown and lisa franchetti are war fighters. their credentials are bespoke. and that's without debate. um, 130 combat hours with cq brown and then lisa franchetti. >> commanded the sixth fleet, which is europe and africa. >> so let's just put that to the side. >> but i. >> think we have to realize, look, you serve at the behest of the president of the united states. absolutely. there are a number of things here that are unprecedented, but we do have some precedent in terms of the length of the terms. pete pace was the chairman for two years. he left during the bush administration. pete schoomaker was a retired four star, was then brought back out of retirement by rumsfeld to be the chief of the of the army. john vessey, back in the 1980s, was the vice chief of staff of the army. this incredibly, deeply experienced soldier from a, you know, a sergeant in world war ii, korea, vietnam. and then he's the vice chief, and he's just beavering away doing his job. and reagan reaches out and he says, i want this guy in charge. everybody kind of put their hands up and w

and he also took aim at franchetti, saying in a book that she essentially was only hired for the job because she is a woman. so this all comes amid this broader promise that hegseth made before he was, you know, put in a secretary of defense to purge generals and admirals from the u.s. military that are perceived as woke, too focused on diversity initiatives in the military and also too close to the former secretary of defense, lloyd austin. so it remains unclear whether these firings are actually going to happen. this is just a list that has been briefed to republicans, we are told, on capitol hill. but still, rumors about these potential firings have been circulating in the pentagon for weeks and weeks. and it seems now they could be more imminent because of this list that has gone to capitol hill. >> and cq brown is a minority, right? yes. all right. natasha bertrand, thank you. the top federal prosecutor in washington, dc, is vowing to investigate anyone who threatens the president or his political allies. donald trump appointed interim attorney ed martin says that he is launchin

highest—ranking military officer, the chairman of thejoint chiefs of staff, also out is admiral lisa franchettithe first woman to lead the us navy. friedrich merz, whose conservative christian far—right alternative for germany, or afd, expected to come second. germany is also warning of russian interference in spread on social media. now on bbc news... the interview: geraint thomas. retiring from the sport. he's been world and olympic champion and a winner now there's time to look back on an extraordinary career. cardiff born and bred, he's a welsh sporting hero. i think we're so lucky as athletes just to do what we do. this is our life — just racing our bikes, training... mm. ..and its special. so what comes next for geraint thomas? i won't be racing my bike any more, back to cardiff. obviously the climate is going to be different. i'm looking forward to it. it's a new chapter. when it doesn't rain much, you tend to just avoid riding in the rain. oh, really? yeah. for geraint thomas, this has been home for 13 years. and he trains in the sunshine and spectacular mountain passes nearby. so, ger,

brown junior, as well as the chief of naval operations, admiral lisa franchetti. there's a lot to discuss with cnn military analyst retired major general spider marks. great to see you. so how concerned are you about these top leaders being cut when often they may carry over into a new administration? >> well. >> historically, fredricka, you're. absolutely correct. the chairman of the joint chiefs and. >> and generally those service. >> chiefs. >> navy, army and marine corps, air force will be if they're in. place during an. administration changeover, they will remain. >> in place for the. >> duration of their term. so it's. a tad unprecedented. >> that this president. >> would remove the chairman and the chief of naval operations. but also bear in mind that that is simply. >> a precedent. there's the president. >> can do. >> what he wants to do in terms of choosing those leaders for those positions. you serve as a flag officer, flag officer, as a general or an admiral, you serve at the pleasure of the president of united states. so there doesn't have to be causal

the head of the the head of the army, general randy george, as well as admiral lisa franchetti, the chief of naval operations. she was also targeted by hegseth. he said she was a d-i hire. now, secretary hegseth has met with brown. that is the top u.s. military officer several times on a regular basis. since brown since hegseth came into the job here. so the exact gripe here, well, that hasn't been made public at this point in terms of who will be promoted here. that is also on the list that we have seen from two sources, and that at least one of those is worth noting. admiral samuel paparo, the commander of indopacom, will be the new chairman of the joint chiefs. >> and or military leaders. now, just have days to tell hegseth how they plan to save billions from the defense department's budget. i think it's something like 8% a year for the next several years. what are you hearing about those plans? >> for the next five years, to be exact, according to a memo from hegseth obtained by cnn. now, that doesn't affect the complete defense department, but it affects the vast majority of what the

. >> and the navy's top admiral lisa franchetti.tagon prepares to fire at least 5,400 probatinary employees next week. >> i signed an order creating the department of government efficiency which is now waging war on government waste, fraud and abuse. the president wants doge leader elon musk to get more aggressive with federal cuts. federal employees have begun receiving e-mails asking for five things they accomplished in the last week. >> a propaganda video showing two hostages in a car forced to watch the staged release of fellow captives. the men are seen pleading to be freed. cbs has chosen not to show that video. in israel the latest hostage release brought a sense of joy and also mourning. >> it is an agonizing week for israelis after hamas failed to hand over the body of shiri bibas on thursday, eventually sending the remains back overnight. finally shiri bibas has come home. braving miserable weather mourningers lined the streets to pay their respects. today six more hostages were released by hamas. i have dreamed of the mom

several other senior leaders also fired, including lisa franchetti, the first woman to serve as the navy's top admiral. brown was nominated by trump in his first term, but has come under fire as trump aims to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity. as brown and some of the others who were fired have done, the president nominating dan kaine to be brown's replacement. a retired three star general who has never served in a four star position. all of this comes as the pentagon prepares to lay off 5400 civilian workers, beginning next week, in the first round of cuts that could total tens of thousands, as the pentagon aims to cut between 5 and 8% of its civilian workforce. layoffs also hitting the federal aviation administration. more than 100 probationary employees have been terminated, including those that produce air traffic navigation maps. sources tell abc news. >> we want to make government smaller, more efficient. >> president trump insists these cuts are making the government more efficient. but voters across the country are pushing back. in a district near atlanta

lisa franchetti. >> also served her. >> country for 40 years through republican administrations, through democratic administrations. these are people who combine just have a tremendous amount of experience. cq brown to every meeting brought poise. he brought respect, he brought honor, and he came ready to discuss the issue at hand. he came ready to provide those recommendations that the secretary, that the president needed to make decisions each and every day on life and death issues, on national security related to our country. >> and i was just about to ask, you know, what will what will the pentagon miss? what will the country miss by not having cq brown as chair of joint chiefs? >> well, i think it's a little ironic. you know, the new secretary of defense, pete hegseth, he likes to talk about bringing war, fighting back to the pentagon, bringing lethality back to the pentagon. cq brown and lisa ronchetti and the others have been focused on war fighting every single day. while pete hegseth is focused on fighting culture wars and scoring political points. cq brown is focused on making

also, lisa franchetti hegseth actually specifically targeted her in his most recent book, the war on warriors, suggesting that she was only hired as the chief of naval operations because she is a woman. he said if naval operations suffer, at least we can hold our heads high because at least we have another first. the first female member of the joint chiefs of staff, haha. he wrote very sarcastically in his book. now, rumors have been circulating for weeks that they could be fired. it remains unclear if they actually are going to be, but it seems more imminent now that they have sent this list to republican lawmakers on capitol hill. and we should note that all of this turmoil comes as the pentagon is, in fact, preparing for mass firings of civilian probationary employees across the department. that could be tens of thousands of employees who could be fired as soon as the end of this week. and we are told that defense officials are actually raising concerns with their superiors over the possibility that these mass firings could actually run afoul of the law governing civilian manageme

franchetti.first woman member of the joint chiefs of staff. now, hegseth has mentioned brown by name in the past, effectively saying he was a woke general and should be fired. in fact, he said that right before, just days before he was named as president donald trump's pick to run the pentagon. franchetti. he has also name checked in his book that came out last year, saying she was a d-i hire and should also be fired. so those are two of the seven names on the list. according to two sources familiar with the matter here, it's worth pointing out that seven of the seven names on the list shared with cnn, three of those are women here. now, the question is, of course, when will this happen? and could the list potentially change? will that we don't know for certain. and we will we will find out here in the next in the coming days and weeks. it is worth pointing out that a number of republican senators have effectively stood by general c.q. brown saying he's done a good job in the few weeks he has wor

addition to general brown, the administration dismissed the chief of naval operations, admiral lisa franchetti. she is the first woman to lead the navy. in his most recent book, published before he was nominated to serve in trump's defense cabinet, defense secretary pete hegseth derided franchetti's promotion, suggesting it was only because she was a woman. also fired last night, air force vice chief of staff general james slife and three jag judge advocate general, the top lawyers in the army, the navy and the air force. for more on this, i'm joined by the democratic congressman seth moulton of massachusetts. he's a member of the house armed services committee, former 2020 presidential candidate. he previously served as a marine corps officer in iraq. congressman, good to see you. thank you for being with us. you put out a statement last night. you had some blunt criticism about the president firing general brown. let me just quote from it. you said dictators or wannabe kings, fire generals who don't agree with their politics. this isn't a banana republic. what trump and hegseth are doing is

admiral lisa franchetti was the first woman to serve on the joint chiefs of staff. and there's this as well. hegseth requesting nominations for the judge advocate general. now, they are the lawyers who decide how the military code of justice is going to be enforced, replacing them with trump loyalists is raising a lot of concern that the president himself could intervene in the military legal process and decide what's lawful and what's not. in just a moment, i'll get the reaction on all of this from democratic congressman james clyburn. now, while trump is fighting against diversity in the military, he is facing some pretty big setbacks in the courts. a judge has now temporarily blocked the administration from trying to end dei programs all across the government. and the conservative majority. supreme court is also delivering trump a blow. it says the government watchdog that he tried to fire gets to remain on the job, at least for now. hampton dellinger oversees whistleblower claims and he was let go. if you recall, earlier this month. but the issue over whether he

nation's top military leader, general cq brown and several other senior leaders, including lisa f franchetti, the first won to serve as the navy's top admiral. president trump, touting his federal firing spree to a crowd of supporters, gathered at the conservative political action conference on saturday. >> but the people have given us a resounding mandate for dramatic change in washington, and we are going to deliver it, we're going to use it, and we're going to make america great again by using it. >> the president also praised elon musk's campaign to cut government spending. >> he's doing a great job and he doesn't need this. he doesn't need it. but he's he wants to see, you know, he's a patriot. people said, well, what official position does he have? he said, patriot who they didn't know. >> all this comes as the pentagon prepares to lay off 5400 civilian workers, beginning next week, in the first round of cuts that could total tens of thousands, as the pentagon aims to cut between 5 and 8% of its civilian workforce. president trump insists these cuts are making the government more effic

so the chief of naval operations, admiral lisa franchetti, why that is an important person to mentionman to run the navy, the first female chief of naval operations. and critically, now both of the women who were in positions running services service chiefs, that is the commandant of the us coast guard and now the chief of naval operations, have now both been fired by by president donald trump. admiral linda fagan was fired in the very within literally hours of donald trump being inaugurated. and now lisa franchetti in addition to that, the air force vice chief of staff, james slife, also named tonight as being fired. there's no reason given for these, but the reality is, general slife has been someone who has been has promoted diversity issues within the air force. is known for that. that's candidly, most likely why he was targeted. in addition to that, also several judge advocates general jags were also are also now set to be replaced, according to pete hegseth. but a but a little bit. more on cq brown here. look. >> we have heard. >> from people very close to president trump, inclu

addition to general brown, the administration dismissed the chief of naval operations, admiral lisa franchetti, who was the first woman to lead the navy. in his most recent book, published before he was nominated to serve in trump's cabinet, defense secretary pete hegseth derided franchetti's promotion, suggesting that it was only because she was a woman. also fired last night, air force vice chief of staff general james slife and three judge advocate generals, the top lawyers at the army, the navy and the air force. no one needed to be firing senior military staff last night, but what both congress and the president needed to be working on is a budget. in fact, meeting at least once a year to appropriate funds that are collected as taxes by the government is congress's one constitutional responsibility. and that process is off to a very rough start. in the 119th congress, early friday morning, after an all night session, the senate, not the house where the budget is supposed to start its tumultuous life, passed a budget largely along partizan lines. with one exception the sometimes libertaria

he has gotten rid of lisa franchetti from from the joint chiefs, from from one of the services, he gotf linda fagan, who was the head of the coast guard, the commandant of the coast guard. he is getting rid of people who aren't white men from the senior ranks of military leadership. and, you know, we hear over and over again that there's an effort to rid the government of dei of diversity, equity and inclusion and the assumption that some of the people who are, you know, proposing there have is that anybody who is not a white man, who is in a job of leadership is somehow there because of affirmative action, right? which is, you know, truly grossly offensive idea, but it's also just not true. >> a grossly offensive idea and something, frankly, that anyone who is not a white man knows they've had to push back against at various points in their career. anyway, this really does sort of start saying the quiet part out loud in terms of the way that the administration views the people that have risen into these roles because of their merit. it's really important for us to keep track of, amid

also out is admiral lisa franchetti, the first woman to lead the us navy.wn's sacking last year as part of a plan to rid the military of diversity and inclusion efforts. this at a particularly on a junction, particularly on a saturday morning in the satuzday morning in the centre the city on narrow street. :-—= fact it was pretty close to in fact it was pretty close to the manchester art gallery and to greater manchester according to greater manchester police the collision happened a van and a tram, between a van and a tram, whieh one i the between a van and a tram, whieh one �*the city's main ie ene ef the eity'e rnein 77 7 7 transport systems. public transport systems. following that, two ambulances, a rapid vehicle and a rapid response vehicle and two air ambulances were sent to the scene and a three—year—old girl, who was a pedestrian travelling and neither the tram nor the was then taken to ner the van; was then taken te where she very hospital where she very sadly died from her e’ investi ations, police say that investigations, are ongoing as inquirie

brown was chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and admiral lisa franchetti was the first woman to head the navy. trump praised his action at the conservative political action conference on saturday. trump also gave props to elon musk for helping in the effort to make the government smaller. >> the people have given us a resounding mandate for dramatic change in washington, and we are going to deliver it, we're going to use it, and we're going to make america great again by using it. >> it is estimated that nearly 300,000 federal workers have been affected so far by the white house job cuts plan. among the federal government cuts, the trump administration has fired about 1000 newly hired national park service employees. their roles include cleaning and maintaining parks and educating visitors. at least a dozen ofng those who lost their jobs worked at yosemite national park. >> people around here are pretty depressed. they're a little worried about what's going to happen when. how much further is it going to go? i mean this for all we know, this is just the first step. who knows what's g

highest—ranking military officer, the chairman of thejoint chiefs of staff, also out is admiral lisa franchettiw on bbc news, it's sportsday. hello. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm gavin ramjaun. for another six nations title, after a hard fought win over a resurgent wales. and so close for england, but a classy champions trophy game. and celtic could have pulled further clear, on another action packed afternoon — drama in with england opening their champions trophy in cardiff this afternoon, who just didn't quite have enough in the tank to overturn despite a 15th test loss in a row. andy swiss reports. the belief was still there. fans flock to cardiff wales fans flock to cardiff hoping finally for something to on the longest celebrate. on the longest losing in the losing streak in the history be rediscovered that could be rediscovered that winning feeling. went against it seemed unlikely and ireland, it seemed unlikely and jack powered the champions into an early lead. but what is this? suddenly, thrillingly, well sparked into life. jack under delirium as ifiundier deliriunfasthey morgan u

also out is admiral lisa franchetti, the first woman to lead the us navy.is life. they say he will remain in hospital at least we will have more on story throughout the day here on bbc news and is plenty on the news and there is plenty on the bbc news website. i am rajini vaidyanathan. be back vaidyanathan. i'll be back after a short break. make the most of today lovely sunshine because is not sunshine because it is not expected to last the second half of the weekend. we change once again and see a gear once again and see a return to some windy weather. this of significant this area ht h'ha eiaeitieehthh tttttt .. ttth which th’ aea at h'eaa hchfhehthh tttttt . t t t ta which will 7 this area ht h'ha eiaeitieehthh tttttt .. ttth which will move this area ht h'ha eiaeitieehthh tttttt t t t t th which will move in. thh aea at h'eaa hchfhahthh tttttt . t t t .- which will move 7in. it lghewhich will move in. it bring heavy rain and gales will bring heavy rain and gales . . . severe gales for a perhaps, severe gales for a for some well. time for some as well. l

highest—ranking military officer, the chairman of thejoint chiefs of staff, also out is admiral lisa franchetti

we have not heard if there was anything like that with franchetti, and frankly we haven't got a lot oformation from pete hegseth about why he made this move. again, we are drawn back to comments that have made in the run-up to the election as well as after the election about dei hires, and is notable that franchetti was the first woman to be on the joint chiefs of staff. host: i want to play for you -- who talked about the firings at the pentagon as politicizing the military and then i will get your response. >> it's completely unjustified. these men and women were superb professionals, they were committed to their o3 defend the constitution of the united states, and apparently what trump and hegseth are trying to do is to politicize the department of defense. and it's not surprising. they picked kash patel who is a partisan, who has no respect for the traditions of the fbi, and now they've turned dod and they want everyone in dod to be beholden to the president, not the constitution. they want everyone there to do what they are told regardless of the law. what was also startling over

nation's top military leader, general cq brown, and several other senior leaders, including lisa franchetti admiral. president trump, touting his firing spree to a crowd of supporters, gathered at the conservative political action conference on saturday. >> but the people have given us a resounding mandate for dramatic change in washington, and we are going to deliver it, we're going to use it, and we're going to make america great again by using it. >> the president also praised elon musk's campaign to cut government spending. >> he's doing a great job, and he doesn't need this either. he doesn't need it, but he's he wants to see, you know, he's a patriot. people said, well, what official position does he have? he said, patriot. oh, they didn't know. >> all this comes as the pentagon prepares to lay off 5400 civilian workers, beginning next week, in the first round of cuts that could total tens of thousands, as the pentagon aims to cut between 5 and 8% of its civilian workforce. layoffs also hitting the federal aviation administration. more than 100 probationary employees have been termina

and you see general cq brown also been fired along with a top officer lisa franchetti, and the top jag officers, the top lawyers for all of the armed forces and president trump calling on some change with doge, asking elon musk to step it up. i believe we have his truth social post and mike, we can put that up. the president saying that elon is doing a great job and i would like to see him get more aggressive. remember, we have a country to save, but ultimately to make greater than ever before. maga, he said see you at cpac today, big crowd. president trump signing an executive order barring illegal immigrants from funding benefits. part of the text, my administration will uphold the rule of law and defend against the waste and hard earned taxpayer resources and protect for american citizens with needs, including with disabilities and veterans. yesterday president trump hosted governorses across the country at the white house. and he handed pam bondi a list of social security numbers that he and his doge team think are fraudulent. >> says they're 110 years older than the country. here,

also fired, admiral lisa franchetti, the first female to rise to the top job. the navy, air force and army also had dismissals. the president's rapid remake of the federal government facing pushbacks in town halls. >> i think he's doing a great job of executive orders. >> trump believes he can do anything he wants to do. >> reporter: the president's early actions are unpopular, supported by just 43% of americans. "the post" is told they believe the president has exceeded his authority. this as the u.s. and ukraine are continuing to work on a deal that could give the u.s. valuable rights to ian rare minerals. >> i want them to give us something for all of the money that we put up, and i'm going to try and get the war settled. >> reporter: sources tell nbc news that employees at the fbi and state department are being told not to reply to the email demanding their accomplishments. it is a sign there might be a power struggle between some trump officials and elon musk. willie? >> yamiche alcindor at the white house. kristen welker is the moderator of "meet the pres

pilot as america's top military leader and firing multiple other senior leaders including lisa franchettis nominated by trump in his first term which made him the first black chief of staff for the air force but has come under fire as trump aims to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity and defense secretary pete hegseth once called brown a dei hire. >> first of all you got to fire the chairman of the joint chiefs. >> reporter: brown telling martha raddatz last year he wants to be judged by his abilities. >> you know, i want to be judged based on my own accomplishments, based on my merits and given an opportunity. that's all i've asked for throughout growing up and through my air force career and hopefully i'm sitting in this chair as the chairman of the joint chiefs, not because i'm african american but because i'm a quality officer. >> reporter: trump nominating as his replacement dan caine, a retired three-star retired air force general who never served in a four-star position as the pentagon prepares to lay off 5,400 civilian workers starting next week in the fir

several other senior leaders also fired, including lisa franchetti, the first woman to serve as the navy's. brown was nominated by trump in his first term, but has come under fire as trump aims to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity. as brown and some of the others who were fired have done, the president nominating dan kaine to be brown's replacement of retired three star general who has never served in a four star position. all of this comes as the pentagon prepares to lay off 5400 civilian workers, beginning next week, in the first round of cuts that could total tens of thousands, as the pentagon aims to cut between 5 and 8% of its civilian workforce. layoffs also hitting the federal aviation administration. more than 100 probationary employees have been terminated, including those that produce air traffic navigation maps. sources tell abc news. >> we want to make government smaller, more efficient. >> president trump insists these cuts are making the government more efficient. but voters across the country are pushing back. in a district near atlanta, voters con

and it was only a few minutes later that hegseth announced the chief of the navy, admiral lisa franchetti, was also being terminated. hegseth called her a hire in his book that came out last year in a friday night statement. hegseth also indicated that the top judge advocate general in the army, navy and air force will also be replaced. that, too, is an extraordinary move. the jags, according to a former judge advocate general, are the conscience of the military. the guides on what's right and what's wrong, what's what's ethical and moral. hegseth called them jag officer in his book and questioned their value. taken together, these firings are an unprecedented reshaping of the top of the military. oren liebermann, cnn in washington. >> all right. thank you. oren. the pentagon firings don't stop there. it has announced plans to fire more than 5000 probationary employees next week. cnn's betsy klein has that. >> well, fredricka, the trump administration is clearly moving swiftly here to reshape the very top of the leadership of the u.s. department of defense, but also taking steps more broa

brown, 3,000 hours' flight time in a fighter jet and 130 hours combat mission, the cno, admiral franchettial of the 6th fleet and she commanded two aircraft carrier groups and on paper those two individuals who the president fired are far more qualified to be chairman of the joint chiefs than the one he wants to fire and put in this role. this is sending a message to the entire community. shut up, fall in line. don't speak truth to power, just wait out the time until you retire or you could be fired with three hours' notice to get out of your government house. >> just stunning to hear that and lahnee, this comes against the backdrop as lahnee was talking about with these townhauls and town halls and what do you make of this moment? >> we have to question who thee people are in these town halls and these are activiss when never liked donald trump and never in avor of donald trump. let's see how this all plays out. every president wants to expand the scope of the executive action. george w. bush after 9/11 tried to expand the surveillance state. barack obama tried to use executive action to

perhaps even a greater surprise was his firing the chief of naval operations, admiral franchetti, who female admiral that the navy had as its chief of naval operations. it speaks of a profound concern that perhaps the president is putting in place individuals who he can be assured would be loyal to him, and not loyal to the constitution or loyal to the rule of law. that's the greatest concern i think many people have. geoff: and there's also his decision to fire the military's top lawyers, those judge advocates general known as jags. you had a 25-year career and the navy, also served as its top lawyer in uniform. first, help us understand what those lawyers do in providing independent legal advice to senior military leaders. rear adm. james mcpherson (ret.): it's profoundly disappointing to hear the secretary of defense describe the men and women of the services, judge advocate general's corps, some of the attorneys that this country has, many of whom forwent, forgo lucrative civilian careers, to serve their country. they answer their country's call. they truly are embracing a lifesty

pilot as america's top military leader and firing multiple other senior leaders including lisa franchettiwoman to serve as the navy's top admiral, the number two ranking general in the air force and three other senior officers. brown was nominated by trump in his first term, which made him the first black chief of staff for the air force but has come under fire as trump aims to rid the military of leaders who support diversity and equity, as brown and some of the others who were fired had done. defense secretary pete hegseth once called brown a dei hire. >> first of all, you got to fire, you know, you got to fire the chairman of the joint chiefs. >> reporter: brown telling our chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz last year he wants to be judged by his ability. >> i want to be judged on my own accomplishments, based on my merits and given an opportunity. that's all i've asked throughout my, you know, growing up and what i've asked for throughout my air force career and hopefully, you know, i'm sitting in this chair as the chairman of the joint chiefs, not because i'm african a

and it was only a few minutes later that hegseth announced the chief of the navy, admiral lisa franchetti, was also being terminated. hegseth called her a hire in his book that came out last year in a friday night statement. hegseth also indicated that the top judge advocate general in the army, navy and air force will also be replaced. that, too, is an extraordinary move. the jags, according to a former judge advocate general, are the conscience of the military. the guides on what's right and what's wrong, what's what's ethical and moral. hegseth called them jag officer in his book in question their value. taken together, these firings are an unprecedented reshaping of the top of the military. oren liebermann, cnn in washington. >> and earlier, cnn asked military analyst major general james spider marks for his take on this major dismissal. here's what he said. >> well, certainly it it's unprecedented in many domains. um, normally what you see with the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and an administration change between presidents is that chairman remains in place. it's the continu

i can imagine lisa franchetti and her family.e country we so desperately want. >> and i guess that's that's the that's where the rubber meets the road. the men and women of the military are as diverse. actually. it's the most diverse workforce in the country, not just in the federal government, but it is the most diverse workforce in the country. and it's being led by a man who says, quote, i reject the idea that our diversity is our strength. what is your read on the morale of the men and women of the military? >> i it's hard to say because it's still a little early. i can tell you that the people of color in the military are. you're looking at a really low morale. so many of them have talked to me about the desire, both the desire to leave and the determination. in a couple of cases, people i talked to over the weekend that that they would stay, that donald trump was not going to drive them out of the pentagon. you talk about how diverse the military is, and it is 43% people of color, but that is all at it has always been at th

nation's top military leader, general cq brown, and several other senior leaders, including lisa franchettithe navy's top admiral. president trump, touting his firing spree to a crowd of supporters, gathered at the conservative political action conference on saturday. >> but the people have given us a resounding mandate for dramatic change in washington, and we are going to deliver it, we're going to use it, and we're going to make america great again by using it. >> the president also praised elon musk's campaign to cut government spending. >> he's doing a great job and he doesn't need this. he doesn't need it. but he's he wants to see, you know, he's a patriot. people said, well, what official position does he have? he said, patriot who they didn't know. >> all this comes as the pentagon prepares to lay off 5400 civilian workers, beginning next week. in the first round of cuts that could total tens of thousands, as the pentagon aims to cut between 5 and 8% of its civilian workforce. layoffs also hitting the federal aviation administration. more than 100 probationary employees have been te

and it was only a few minutes later that hegseth announced the chief of the navy, admiral lisa franchetti, was also being terminated. hegseth called her a hire in his book that came out last year. in a friday night statement, hegseth also indicated that the top judge advocate general in the army, navy and air force will also be replaced. that, too, is an extraordinary move. the jags, according to a former judge advocate general, are the conscience of the military. the guides on what's right and what's wrong, what's what's ethical and moral. hegseth called them jag officer in his book and questioned their value. taken together, these firings are an unprecedented reshaping of the top of the military. oren liebermann, cnn in washington. >> a chance to connect with voters during these first 100 days of president trump's second term did not go smoothly for some republican congressmen, coast to coast lawmakers answered questions from some frustrated and sometimes angry voters. watch this. >> tyranny is rising in the white house, and a man has declared himself our king. so i would like to know.

lisa franchetti, navy admiral, another general james slife of the air force. three pentagon, three leaders of the pentagon that were fired. this is what congressman don bacon, who is a republican from nebraska, himself a military veteran, told me. he said i was a colonel in a one star with cq brown. he did not deserve to be fired. the military is resilient. i'm just worried about the lack of decency in class. so there's some bipartisan pushback about these efforts. but then there was also this other move as part of this trump hegseth pete hegseth, the defense secretary, replaced these military attorneys known as jags, from the army, navy and air force, which is these are the people who tend to make sure that the battles of what's happening on the battlefield are within the law. what is the purpose behind all these firings. >> dismantling the guardrails. i mean, i think we've seen that from the ig firings to to what you're talking about here. it's it's breaking down. any potential roadblocks in the government for what trump wants to do. and let's remember, this

so this is exactly the type of person that you want at the table, along with admiral franchetti.m, someone who's commanded carrier strike groups in various parts of the world. um, so these are folks that come with unique backgrounds, unique voices, um, to the table, but serve in an apolitical way. and i think that's really important to remember. >> i'm curious to get your take on whether you know much about air force lieutenant general dan caine, who is retired, being asked to come out of retirement as trump's next joint chiefs of staff pick. what do you think of caine and what are you hearing from those inside of the pentagon? if you were hearing from people about him and about what's happening at the pentagon with these firings? >> i've heard from a few folks. look, this is someone that is going to now have to go through congress and testify. and, you know, i think that's fair. and that that process will play out. um, i don't know too much other than that this is someone that, um, you know, does have a lot of experience under his belt. but again, it remains to be seen if he's e

another name on that list, admiral lisa franchetti. she is the first female member of the joint chiefs of staff. hegseth, in his book, accused her of being a di hire. another name on that list, the chief of the army, general randy george. it's worth noting that of the seven names on that list, three of them are women. now, there are some names of those to be promoted according to this list, which we have seen. none of those listed are women. it is worth noting that the commander of indo-pacific command is, or would be slated to be, the next chairman of the joint chiefs. now, again, i just want to point out, is the list not necessarily definitive and it could change. we're also not clear on the timing, although the expectation is this could happen sooner than later. >> oren liebermann live for us at the pentagon. oren, thank you so much. we want to take you straight to the press briefing room at the white house. right now. we're hearing from national security advisor mike waltz answering questions from reporters. let's go there now. >>

brown, his principal military adviser, a fighter pilot with 130 combat hours, and navy admiral lisa franchetti, the first woman to serve on the joint chiefs of staff, a cancer survivor who commanded navy carrier strike groups, and u.s. naval forces korea. general james slife, who worked in special operations and has 3,100 helicopter flight hours, and the top lawyers for the army, navy, and air force, all of them with decades of experience, and all of them spending their lives in service to this country. >> it's how we develop each and every one of you to reach your full potential. >> martha: cq brown was the first black officer to become the first joint chief of staff in 2020. at the time, he praised the milestone writing, the first-ever african american military service chief was a patriot and great leader. but brown has become a target for the trump administration as they seek to rid the government and the military of leaders who support diversity and equity efforts. this video of brown post after the murder of george floyd in 2020 drawing attention. >> and thinking about a history of racial

chiefs, charles brown, and and so many others, six pentagon officials, um, including admiral lisa franchetti, the first woman to lead the navy. uh, and then there are lawyers as well. um, what is the president's intention here? >> uh, to make rapid changes very quickly before congress can decide whether they want to push back against this or not, and to do it in a way where he can drive the narrative and where we're what he's talking about is dei hires. and of course, there are a number of officials at the pentagon who may themselves be african-american or women, uh, but were also hired because of their qualifications. so this is a real remaking that involves both cutting jobs, reversing joe biden's appointments and nominees. um, and rebranding top leadership structures with loyalty in mind, as well as resume in mind. um, but i think what we're hearing him say in these early minutes of his opening remarks that cpac does sort of set the tone for it. and, of course, he's talking to, um, a group of true believers. this is a certainly a maga friendly audience and a jd vance friendly audience as

. >> female head of the navy, admiral franchetti. >> then also other senior. >> military officers were all removed in one step. >> and then also all the. >> military judge advocate general. the lawyers. >> who oversee military cases and military. >> courts were removed. and there wasn't really an explanation for that. so this is unprecedented in the. >> sense that. >> usually the chairman stays and fulfills his full. >> term, his or her full term. >> and that doesn't coincide. with elections. >> and of course, there's a. bedrock principle here. >> that the military is supposed to be apolitical. >> and nonpartisan. >> in a democracy. and this move has raised. questions about exactly why was this decision taken, what is the criteria for this? >> well, let me ask. maybe there's an answer to that question. with the president having nominated air force lieutenant general dan kane to succeed brown, what do we know about kane? >> well, general kane would be way down the ladder in terms of who would be next in line. right. so he's a three star general, not four stars. and he has not ever serve