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,

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk look like they’re having a blast in Washington, clear-cutting elements of the federal government and seizing power from states and Congress. Their glee is at odds with the growing evidence of repercussions and anger out in the country at their approach of cutting first and asking questions later.

US President Donald Trump said Saturday he would like his billionaire advisor Elon Musk to get "more aggressive" in implementing his reform agenda of cutting back the federal government.