The sackings have little to do with kindling the “warrior ethos”, which the defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, vows to do. General Brown has clocked more than 3,000 flight hours, including 130 in combat. Admiral Franchetti had commanded not one but two aircraft-carrier strike groups.

President Donald Trump fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Charles Q. Brown, breaking with decades of precedent as part of a broader purge of senior military leaders chosen by his predecessor,

SCIUTTO: Before we get to the elections question, I want to ask your reaction to President Trump blaming Ukraine for Russia’s invasion. As a Ukrainian who has suffered through this war and had your life threatened by ongoing Russian attacks,

Having already subdued Congress, Trump has now openly announced that the Führerprinzip governs the executive branch.