President Donald Trump has fired a top NATO admiral accused of spreading leftist ideology.
The Pentagon confirmed that Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield was let go over the weekend as Trump continues a purge of “woke” officials.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Chatfield was removed “due to a loss of confidence in her ability to lead.”
“The Defense Department is grateful for her many years of military service,” Parnell added.
Chatfield’s name was on a list of “woke” military officials prepared by the American Accountability Foundation, a conservative group.
The Navy helicopter pilot’s critics pointed to her past remarks touting “diversity.”
Her remarks include a speech Chatfield gave at the Naval War College in 2019 when she became its president.
“I want to see members of this team offer each other respect for differences, for diversity, for the dialogue from which ideas and collaboration emerge,” she said.
In 2015, Chatfield used the popular leftist slogan “diversity is our strength” in a speech about women’s empowerment.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has led a reckoning against “DEI” initiatives.
He asserts that many of these far-left ideas have turned the military away from its core mission.
Hegseth has criticized the focus on DEI as divisive.
He argues that it is contrary to the spirit of solidarity that is needed for the armed forces to succeed.
Trump has fired a number of top military officers who advocate “woke” ideas.
Those officials include former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown.
Brown, who is black, pushed to lower the number of white officers in the Air Force.
Trump’s firing of Chatfield may have been inspired by her advocacy of diversity, but it also highlights his longstanding ambivalence towards NATO.
The president has long criticized the trans-Atlantic alliance.
Trump has been calling out European member states for not contributing more to their defense.
Chatfield sat on NATO’s military committee.
Congressional Democrats condemned her firing as dangerous to national security.
Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) said he’s “deeply disturbed” by the news.
“Trump’s relentless attacks on our alliances and his careless dismissal of decorated military officials make us less safe and weaken our position across the world,” Warner said.
Jack Reed (D-RI), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the firing “disgraceful.”
“I will continue to call out this unconscionable behavior and sound the alarm about the dangers of firing military officers as a political loyalty test,” Reed said.
“I urge my Republican colleagues to join me in demanding an explanation from President Trump and Secretary Hegseth.”
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