A source close to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has expressed glee at booting mainstream media from a Pentagon facility to make way for MAGA outlets.
“Hope those hit pieces on Pete were worth it,” the unnamed source told Axios after the decision to remove four major news outlets from the Pentagon’s Correspondents’ Corridor.
The New York Times, NBC News, NPR, and Politico have to vacate the Pentagon in two weeks. They will be replaced by Trump-friendly outlet the New York Post, full MAGA supporters One America News Network and Breitbart, as well as the left-leaning Huffington Post, which did not request a spot at the Pentagon.
While the source did not specify the “hit pieces,” former Fox News star Hegseth’s troubled past of heavy drinking, alleged sexual assault, admitted serial infidelity and alleged financial incompetence had been widely reported after his nomination by Donald Trump to lead the Pentagon.
This move comes amid a massive purge of Trump’s perceived enemies within the federal government. White House sources told Axios that the largest purge of government employees in history is “just the beginning.”
Head of the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, shut senior government workers out of the Office of Personnel Management’s HR database and has now reportedly been granted full access to the federal payment system.
The Trump administration also froze $3 trillion in federal funds to root out “Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies” from the federal government. A D.C. judge blocked the freeze.
Trump also offered all government employees a buyout with pay and benefits until Sept. 30, in an apparent effort to purge the government of progressives.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove singled out several FBI senior executives who were told they would be fired if they did not retire by Monday.
Bove also requested the names of all FBI officials who worked on investigations related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, which likely includes thousands of people.
These decisions come amid a highly publicized plane crash in Washington, D.C., in which 67 people died, for which Trump blamed DEI policies. Within 24 hours of the crash, the Trump administration emailed FAA employees asking them to take the massive buyout.
President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Nick Daniels, told The New York Times he was “concerned” about the purges during an already existing “shortage” of air traffic controllers.
One air traffic controller was reportedly doing the job of two controllers on the night of the crash.
Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg called Trump’s comments “despicable” and said Trump should “show actual leadership” to prevent future accidents.
