Pentagon official says talk with Hegseth sparked his sudden departure from high-level post
Former Trump national security aide and Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot reportedly will resign at the end of the week.
His sudden departure comes after Sean Parnell took over the role of the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson in February.
“I made clear to Secretary [Pete] Hegseth before the inauguration that I was not interested in being number two to anyone in public affairs,” Ullyot told Politico, reportedly adding that he had offered to help on an acting basis for two months.
“Last month, as that time approached, the secretary and I talked and could not come to an agreement on another good fit for me at DOD. So I informed him today that I will be leaving at the end of this week,” Ullyot said.
PENTAGON DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF IS SECOND HEGSETH ADVISOR REMOVED DURING LEAK INVESTIGATION
The Department of Defense did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
During the first Trump administration, Ullyot served as the spokesperson for the National Security Council and was an assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Marine Corps veteran also served as a senior adviser in President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign.
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Ullyot’s resignation will come as three Pentagon officials have been placed on administrative leave this week as part of a leak investigation.
Colin Carroll, chief of staff to Deputy Defense Secretary Stephen Feinberg, was put on leave on Wednesday, according to Politico.
The day before, Darin Selnick, the deputy chief of staff for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Hegseth aide Dan Caldwell were removed.
Reuters reported that Caldwell was placed on leave for an “unauthorized disclosure,” as part of an investigation into leaked Pentagon documents.
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The probe was announced last month and concerned itself over “recent unauthorized disclosures of national security information.”
Harvard responds to Trump admin pulling millions in grants after refusing to meet demands
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem canceled $2.7 million in DHS grants to Harvard University on Wednesday.
In a statement, Noem announced the cancelation of two grants for the university, and declared the elite Massachusetts Ivy League institution “unfit to be entrusted with taxpayer dollars.”
The university has been ordered to submit records by April 30, or risk losing its certification to enroll international students under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP).
“With anti-American, pro-Hamas ideology poisoning its campus and classrooms, Harvard’s position as a top institution of higher learning is a distant memory,” Noem said in the statement. “America demands more from universities entrusted with taxpayer dollars.”
A Harvard spokesperson responded Thursday morning, “The government has long exempted universities from taxes in order to support their educational mission. The tax exemption means that more of every dollar can go toward scholarships for students, lifesaving and life-enhancing medical research, and technological advancements that drive economic growth. There is no legal basis to rescind Harvard’s tax-exempt status.”
TRUMP ADMIN ASKS IRS TO REVOKE HARVARD’S TAX-EXEMPT STATUS
The canceled grants include an $800,303 “Implementation Science for Targeted Violence Prevention” award, which DHS says classified conservatives as far-right extremists, and a $1,934,902 “Blue Campaign Program Evaluation and Violence Advisement” grant, which funded public health messaging that Noem’s office described as ideologically skewed.
The move follows President Donald Trump‘s decision to freeze $2.2 billion in federal funding to Harvard and ask for the IRS to revoke its tax-exempt status.
The IRS is currently reviewing the university’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit designation, according to sources within the Department of Justice (DOJ). A final decision has not yet been made.
Harvard’s statement continued to say that rescinding its tax-exempt status “would endanger our ability to carry out our educational mission. It would result in diminished financial aid for students, abandonment of critical medical research programs, and lost opportunities for innovation. The unlawful use of this instrument more broadly would have grave consequences for the future of higher education in America.”
In a social media post, Trump criticized Harvard’s leadership and faculty, writing, “Harvard has been hiring almost all woke, Radical Left, idiots and ‘birdbrains’ who are only capable of teaching FAILURE to students and so-called ‘future leaders.’” He continued, “Harvard is a JOKE, teaches Hate and Stupidity, and should no longer receive Federal Funds.”
STEFANIK SHREDS HARVARD OVER ‘COMPLETE MORAL FAILURE’ AFTER ALLOWING CLAUDINE GAY TO REMAIN PRESIDENT
The DHS action comes amid a broader federal crackdown on campus antisemitism following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.
In the months since, Harvard has faced criticism over antisemitic rhetoric and protests involving students and faculty. Noem’s letter references “foreign visa-holding rioters” and calls for Harvard to provide documentation of their conduct.
With a $53.2 billion endowment, Harvard is one of the wealthiest institutions in the world. DHS emphasized that the university can afford to fund its own programs and should not rely on taxpayer money if it is not meeting federal standards for student conduct and institutional accountability.
The Department of Education is also scrutinizing the university. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon recently launched a review of more than $255.6 million in federal contracts and nearly $9 billion in grants involving Harvard and its affiliates.
“Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination — all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry — has put its reputation in serious jeopardy,” McMahon said.
This move comes shortly after similar action was taken against Columbia University, as the federal government steps up enforcement on institutions it says are failing to meet civil rights and national security obligations.
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Noem’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Agency led by RFK Jr blasted over alleged ‘censorship’ as top official quits from ‘dream job’
A top official at the National Institutes of Health announced his abrupt retirement from the agency after 21 years, complaining about censorship under the leadership of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
NIH senior investigator Kevin Hall complained that he “experienced censorship” during his investigation of ultra-processed food addiction.
“After 21 years at my dream job, I’m very sad to announce my early retirement from the National Institutes of Health. My life’s work has been to scientifically study how our food environment affects what we eat, and how what we eat affects our physiology,” Hall wrote in a lengthy post on social media.
“Lately, I’ve focused on unraveling the reasons why diets high in ultra-processed food are linked to epidemic proportions of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Our research leads the world on this topic,” he continued.
‘HEALTHY SNACK TIME’ WITH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS LAUNCHED BY SECRETARIES ROLLINS, RFK JR.
Hall said that he was initially encouraged by Kennedy’s public statements about chronic illness and problems with America’s food systems. However, he says he “experienced censorship in the reporting of our research because of agency concerns that it did not appear to fully support preconceived narratives of my agency’s leadership about ultra-processed food addiction.”
“I wrote to my agency’s leadership expressing my concerns and requested time to discuss these issues, but I never received a response,” Hall added.
The NIH did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Hall’s claims come days after Kennedy visited FDA employees last week and reportedly told them that “the Deep State is real.”
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“President Trump always talks about the Deep State, and the media, you know, disparages him and says that he’s paranoid,” Kennedy said according to Politico, which reported it obtained an audio recording and transcript of the secretary’s remarks. “But the Deep State is real. And it’s not, you know, just George Soros and Bill Gates and a bunch of nefarious individuals sitting together in a room and plotting the, you know, the destruction of humanity.”
According to multiple reports, Kennedy pointed the finger at “institutional pressures.”
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Kennedy also reportedly said the FDA had become a “sock puppet” of the industries it was meant to regulate. NBC News reported that Kennedy said that this was the case with “every agency,” not just the FDA.
Carville says getting back alleged MS-13 gang member should be Dems’ top priority
Democratic strategist James Carville said Wednesday the party’s “top agenda” needs to be focused on retrieving deported El Salvadoran Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
“People say, ‘Well, should we really fight on this turf or should we fight more on ordinary people?’ This we should fight on. You can’t pivot to an economic issue. This is why we think we’re a country,” Carville said on his “Politics War Room” podcast.
A U.S. court granted Abrego Garcia temporary protected status in 2019, finding he faced a “clear probability of future persecution” if returned to his home country because “El Salvadoran authorities were and would be unable or unwilling to protect him.”
He was deported by the Trump administration in March to El Salvador’s sprawling, maximum-security prison. However, both a federal court and the Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” his release and return to the U.S. for proper deportation proceedings.
JAMES CARVILLE WARNS COUNTRY SHOULD BE ON ‘HIGH ALERT’ WHEN ASKED IF TRUMP MIGHT TRY TO RIG MIDTERMS
Though the Trump administration acknowledged that his deportation was an “administrative error,” it has since defended the decision and suggested El Salvador’s authorities should have the final say on Abrego Garcia’s status.
Carville alluded to the famous “First They Came for the Jews…” Holocaust poem and warned Democrats that they need to take a firm stance on this as soon as possible.
“There’s real wisdom in that and history has taught us that. First, they came for him, and then we’re going to say no right there. We got to keep fighting this. I think this is worthy of being at the top agenda of things that we’re going to fight over is get this guy back home,” Carville said.
Many Democrats have spoken out against Abrego Garcia’s deportation, making him a cause célèbre and describing the El Salvadoran national and accused MS-13 gang member in the U.S. illegally as a “Maryland father” who was “abducted.”
On Wednesday, Democratic Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador in an attempt to visit Abrego Garcia and negotiate his release with El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, but he was turned away.
Patty Murin, the mother of Rachel Morin, who was murdered by a different illegal immigrant from El Salvador, spoke at the White House press briefing Wednesday and called out Van Hollen’s support for illegal immigrants over her daughter.
“To have a senator from Maryland who didn’t even acknowledge – barely acknowledged my daughter and the brutal death that she endured, leaving her five children without a mother, and now a grandbaby without a grandmother, so that he can use my taxpayer money to fly to El Salvador to bring back someone that is not even an American citizen,” Morin said. “Why does that person have more right than I do for my daughter or my grandchildren? I don’t understand this.”
The Department of Homeland Security also released court records that it claims prove Abrego Garcia’s ties to the MS-13 gang. According to a Prince George’s County, Maryland, Police Department interview sheet shared with Fox News by DHS, local police discovered Abrego Garcia during a murder investigation. Police found him loitering in a Home Depot parking lot with other known MS-13 gang members in possession of illicit drugs in 2019.
Prince George’s County Gang Unit MS-13 Intelligence Squad conducted an interview with Abrego Garcia and contacted a “past proven and reliable source” who identified him as an active member of MS-13 with the “Westerns” clique, with the rank of “Chequeo” and the moniker of “Chele.”
CRITICS BLAST DEMOCRATS’ ‘PATHETIC’ PLAN TO VISIT ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER DEPORTED TO EL SALVADORAN PRISON
A federal immigration court in Baltimore further determined Abrego Garcia was not eligible for release because he “failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that his release from custody would not pose a danger to others, as the evidence shows that he is a verified member of MS-13.”
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke about the documents and lambasted the Democratic Party for their “lies” about Abrego Garcia and how they keep referring to him as a “Maryland father.”
“There is no Maryland father. Let me reiterate. Kilmar Abrego Garcia is an illegal alien, MS-13 gang member and foreign terrorist who was deported back to his home country. And when Kilmar Abrego Garcia was originally arrested, he was wearing a sweatshirt with rolls of money covering the ears, mouth and eyes of presidents on various currency denominations,” Leavitt said on Wednesday. “This is a known MS-13 gang symbol of hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil.”
She continued, “Abrego Garcia was also arrested with two other well-known members of the vicious MS-13 gang. Two separate judges found that Abrego Garcia was a member of MS-13. That finding has never been disputed.”
Leavitt also produced Maryland court documents released that morning that showed Abrego Garcia’s wife had petitioned an order of protection against him for two counts of domestic violence in 2021, alleging that he punched, scratched, grabbed and bruised her.
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Abrego Garcia’s attorneys maintain he was living in the U.S. legally and does not have any gang ties.
Trump officials scorch Dems as ‘horrific’ details emerge about deported alleged gangbanger
Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt unloaded on “deranged” Democrats pushing for alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia to return to the U.S. as court records appear to expose the El Salvadoran illegal immigrant’s past domestic violence against his wife.
Bondi, speaking on the records Wednesday night on “Hannity,” said the media-dubbed “Maryland man” is back where he belongs.
“He is sitting in a prison and every American should be thanking President Trump tonight and every liberal journalist who has called him a ‘Maryland man’ and saying he was rightfully in this country should be apologizing tonight to President Trump,” she said.
Fox News has obtained the written domestic violence allegations filed in court against 29-year-old Kilmar Abrego Garcia by his wife, Jennifer Vasquez, in 2021.
PAM BONDI CALLS OUT ‘DETACHED FROM REALITY’ DEMS FOR DEMANDING ALLEGED MS-13 GANG MEMBER BE RETURNED TO US
In a filing written in Vasquez’s own handwriting, she alleged Abrego Garcia repeatedly beat her, writing: “At this point, I am afraid to be close to him. I have multiple photos/videos of how violent he can be and all the bruises he [has] left me.”
Bondi pointed to the records, which detailed that Abrego Garcia had punched Vasquez in the eye and ripped off her clothes, calling the descriptions “horrific.”
Amid a lengthy legal tussle surrounding the suspected gang member’s deportation to an El Salvador megaprison, the Supreme Court recently upheld a lower court’s order, requiring “the government to ‘facilitate’ Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”
However, both Trump officials and El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele agreed they didn’t have the authority to return Abrego Garcia to the U.S., with Bukele saying he lacked the power to “smuggle a terrorist into the U.S.”
BUKELE SAYS TRUMP HAS 350 MILLION AMERICANS TO ‘LIBERATE’ BY ENDING CRIME, TERRORISM
The issue fomented outrage among Democrats, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., who insisted Abrego Garcia had been “illegally abducted” from the U.S.
He caught ire from Republicans this week for traveling to El Salvador to push for Abrego Garcia’s return.
“This shows you how deranged the modern-day Democrat Party has truly become,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told host Sean Hannity on Wednesday.
Leavitt stood near Patty Morin, the mother of illegal immigrant murder victim Rachel Morin, earlier on Wednesday in the White House briefing room as she shared gruesome details about her daughter’s brutal rape and murder at the hands of Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, a 23-year-old from El Salvador recently convicted of the crimes.
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Leavitt said hearing the story was “incredibly difficult,” but also a “powerful” truth. She also slammed Van Hollen for allegedly prioritizing an accused gang member instead of heeding the concerns of constituents like Morin and her family.
Democrats and Abrego Garcia’s attorney have disputed the Trump administration’s claims that he was a member of the violent MS-13 gang. DHS released new documents this week, which it says definitively proves Abrego Garcia, who was deported to the El Salvadoran mega prison “Terrorism Confinement Center” (CECOT) last month, is a member of the notorious MS-13 gang.
Rubio announces closure of State Department effort that ‘was supposed to be dead’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has announced the closure of a State Department effort that he accused of spending millions on censorship.
“I am announcing the closure of the State Department’s Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI), formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC),” Rubio said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
“Under the previous administration, this office, which cost taxpayers more than $50 million per year, spent millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving,” Rubio asserted.
STATE DEPARTMENT’S ‘GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT CENTER’ ACCUSED OF CENSORING AMERICANS SHUTS ITS DOORS
The GEC closed in December, according to an archived State Department website content that is still viewable online.
Rubio asserted in a piece published on The Federalist that the GEC had not actually ended, but was simply re-branded.
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“When Republicans in Congress sunset GEC’s funding at the end of last year, the Biden State Department simply slapped on a new name. The GEC became the Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R-FIMI) office, with the same roster of employees. With this new name, they hoped to survive the transition to the new administration,” Rubio wrote. “Today, we are putting that to an end. Whatever name it goes by, GEC is dead. It will not return.”
Former House lawmaker Dan Bishop, who is now serving as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, thanked Rubio. “This is the way,” the former congressman wrote in a post on X.
WHITE HOUSE PROPOSAL AXES UN, NATO FUNDS AND HALVES STATE DEPARTMENT BUDGET
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Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wisc., responded to Rubio’s announcement, tweeting, “Excellent.”
Serena Williams comes clean about Super Bowl performance allegedly aimed at her ex-lover
Serena Williams has cleared the air on her controversial Super Bowl halftime appearance, revealing in an interview this week that her dancing during Kendrick Lamar’s performance was in no way a dig at her ex, Drake.
Williams, 43, found herself at the center of controversy after Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans after millions of viewers saw her do the crip walk during Lamar’s performance of “Not Like Us,” a diss track aimed at Lamar’s rival and Williams’ ex, Drake.
Some took issue with the dance itself because of its gang affiliations, and others raised questions as to why Williams, who is married with two children, would take aim at an old flame.
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During an interview with Time magazine, Williams, who was named The 100 Most Influential People of 2025, said her participation was in no way meant to throw shade at her ex.
“Absolutely not,” she said during the interview.
“I would never do that. And that was sad, that anyone would ever think that. I respect how they could. Obviously, I can see how someone would think that. But absolutely not. I have never had negative feelings towards him. We’ve known him for so many years.”
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Among Williams’ most notable critics was ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith, who said he would divorce his wife if she was “trolling her ex.” Williams saw the comments, but told Time that he was entitled to his opinions.
“I thought it was hilarious,” she said. “He’s allowed to have his personal opinion. But did you see my husband’s remark? It was so eloquent.”
Williams’ husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, defended her in a post on social media, saying, “Some of y’all have no idea how criticized Serena was for this same dance at Wimbledon 13 years ago and it shows…. This is bigger than the music.”
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The 23-time Grand Slam champion said thinking back to her participation, she doesn’t know if “I regret it or not.”
“I don’t know the answer to that.”
Trump calls for rate cuts, says Powell’s termination ‘cannot come fast enough’
President Donald Trump continued lambasting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell while demanding interest rate cuts on Thursday.
Trump nominated Powell to serve as chair of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System during his first term in office, and then-President Joe Biden later nominated Powell for a second term.
However, Trump has soured on Powell and wants him out of the job.
FED’S POWELL SAYS CENTRAL BANK COULD FACE ‘CHALLENGING SCENARIO’ DUE TO TARIFFS
In a fiery Truth Social post on Thursday morning, the president declared, “The ECB is expected to cut interest rates for the 7th time, and yet, ‘Too Late’ Jerome Powell of the Fed, who is always TOO LATE AND WRONG, yesterday issued a report which was another, and typical, complete ‘mess!’ Oil prices are down, groceries (even eggs!) are down, and the USA is getting RICH ON TARIFFS. Too Late should have lowered Interest Rates, like the ECB, long ago, but he should certainly lower them now. Powell’s termination cannot come fast enough!”
The president’s latest broadside against Powell came after the Fed chair delivered remarks on Wednesday, during which he discussed the economic and monetary policy outlook.
“So, at the Fed, we are always focused on the dual mandate goals that Congress has given us: Maximum employment and stable prices. Despite heightened uncertainty and downside risks, the U.S. economy is still in a solid position. The labor market is at or near maximum employment. Inflation has come down a great deal, but is still running a bit above our two percent objective,” Powell said during his remarks.
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He said that the level of tariff hikes that have been announced “is significantly larger than anticipated, and the same is likely to be true of the economic effects, which will include higher inflation and slower growth.”
Trump has been applying public pressure on Powell and calling for rate cuts.
In a Truth Social post earlier this month, the president declared, “This would be a PERFECT time for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to cut Interest Rates. He is always ‘late,’ but he could now change his image, and quickly. Energy prices are down, Interest Rates are down, Inflation is down, even Eggs are down 69%, and Jobs are UP, all within two months – A BIG WIN for America. CUT INTEREST RATES, JEROME, AND STOP PLAYING POLITICS!”
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When Powell was asked last year whether he would resign if Trump asked him to do so, the Fed chair flatly replied, “No.”