Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is defending President Donald Trump’s firing of the nation’s senior military officer and a wave of top dismissals at the Pentagon, insisting that they weren’t unusual despite accusations that the new administration is injecting politics into the military.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the firing of the nation’s senior military officer and others at the Pentagon weren’t unusual despite accusations that the administration is injecting politics into the military.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed senior Pentagon officials and military leaders to forge plans that would result in an 8 percent cut to the defense budget for each year over the next