They fell into disgrace: serious purges began in the Trump administration
Purges have begun in the administration of US President Donald Trump. The day before, the head of the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General Pam Bondi left her post. According to the American media, some other high-ranking officials may follow her. A major purge has begun at the Pentagon. According to the leaks, the departure of FBI Director Cash Patel, Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll and Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-Deremer is also being discussed. Why this is happening right now and what consequences it may lead to is in the Izvestia article.
The president is unhappy
Initially, during his second term, Donald Trump was reluctant to fire any of his top aides, acting either for the sake of democracy or for the sake of the media. However, there were resignations. For example, after the scandal with the chat in the unsecured Signal messenger, where attacks on the Houthis were discussed and where The Atlantic's editor-in-chief was accidentally added, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz lost his post.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristy Noem
In addition, Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem. This happened against the backdrop of the scandalous ICE immigration police raids and clashes with protesters in Minnesota, during which two US citizens were killed. However, both supporters of the president still remained in the government, Noem received the position of special envoy to the Shield of the Americas initiative, and Waltz — the US permanent representative to the United Nations.
Until recently, there was an unspoken decree in the administration that no one would leave office until the midterm elections. But the war with Iran has changed the political landscape: support for the initiatives of the American leader from the citizens of the country began to fade rapidly.
One of the sources close to the White House told The Atlantic that Trump liked the American response to his decision to fire Noem. And he decided to repeat this with Attorney General Pam Bondi, whose duties will be temporarily performed by her deputy Todd Blanche. However, unlike Waltz and Noem, she is leaving for an unknown "new job in the private sector."
The reason for Bondi's disgrace was the work of her department in the Epstein case. A few months ago, the Prosecutor General announced that on her desk was a "client list" of an entrepreneur accused of sex trafficking minors. Subsequently, she hastened to clarify that this was said for a red word and in fact there is no list.
US President Donald Trump with US Attorney General Pam Bondi
But the publication of the files did not particularly satisfy either the media or the public. In addition, the documents were not released on time. In addition, some files were deleted from the archives, allowing to identify the victims of Epstein. Bondi's emotional speech to Congress only made the situation worse. If she had stayed close to Trump, she would have become too toxic an asset for him. The president had to get rid of her in a hurry.
Also, the American leader, according to media reports in the United States, was unhappy that Bondi, although she demonstrated loyalty to the president, as a minister did not actively pursue criminal prosecution of his opponents.
The Pentagon has its own purges
Meanwhile, Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth demanded the immediate resignation of the Chief of Staff of the US Army, General Randy George. The Ministry of Defense stated that they were grateful to him for his service, but "the time has come for a new leadership of the army." They want to see someone in this post who "embodies President Trump's vision," the Minister of War said.
George was appointed by the previous US President Joseph Biden in 2023, and his candidacy was approved by the Senate. Usually, the chief of staff of the army is changed every four years, but this time the American authorities did not wait for the end of his term of office.
Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth
In addition, Hegseth blocked the promotion of two female officers and two African-Americans who wanted to be awarded general ranks. And he removed Colonel Dave Butler, who worked under the former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, from the promotion lists — Donald Trump accused him of treason and offered to execute him.
In the first months of his work, Hegseth fired the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, African-American General Charles Brown, the female commanders of the Navy and Coast Guard Lisa Franchetti and Linda Fagan, as well as General Jennifer Short, Chief of Naval Reserve Nancy Lacor and Vice Admiral Shoshana Chatfield.
In addition, the Pentagon chief has launched a major reform of the system for selecting officers for promotion and appointment to senior positions, calling for the closure of the program to ensure that all officers, regardless of race or gender, have an equal opportunity to apply for senior positions.
The long list
According to American media, FBI Director Kash Patel may be next in line to leave the Trump administration. There are also "active discussions" about the possible departure of Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll, who is close to US Vice President Jay Dee Vance, and Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-Deremer.
FBI Director Cash Patel
At the same time, it is clarified that the US president himself has not yet made a final decision on possible dismissals.
However, some of Trump's supporters began to turn away from him themselves. Joe Kent, director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, a protege of Tulsi Gabbard, head of the National Intelligence office, announced his resignation earlier. He stated that he could not support the ongoing conflict with Iran.
According to the official, Washington was drawn into this war because of disinformation and called Israel's influence on US policy a "disservice" because its data simply does not correspond to reality.
Not everything is so clear about Tulsi Gabbard herself. Recently, there have been reports that the US president is allegedly considering her possible dismissal from the post of director of national intelligence after she did not condemn Kent, who resigned.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard
Subsequently, White House Communications Director Stephen Chung denied this information. "The president has assembled the most talented and effective cabinet in history, and together they have achieved historic victories in the interests of the American people," he said.
The United States is preparing for an onshore operation
The reason for the ongoing purges in the US administration is the disagreement over Iran, confirms Kamran Hasanov, a doctor of political science at the University of Salzburg. Having failed to achieve his goals in the Islamic Republic, Trump is looking for the guilty.
"Outside the United States, he blamed the Europeans who did not want to open Hormuz, and inside he blamed the intelligence officers," the political scientist believes.
In turn, Elena Panina, director of the RUSSTRAT Institute for International Political and Economic Strategies, is confident that Hegseth is purging staff at the Pentagon for a ground operation in Iran.
— Immediately after Randy George, Hegseth dismissed two more generals of the US Army: the head of the Training and Transformation Command, David Hodne, and Chief chaplain William Green, Jr., who was responsible for the spiritual and moral condition of the military. By the way, Hodne was appointed already under Trump — in October 2025," the expert says.
Head of the David Hodne Training and Transformation Command
The dismissal of three generals in the midst of a military campaign against Iran, she said, looks extremely unusual.
— Moreover, the US ground forces have not really fought yet, except for the strikes of the HIMARS MLRS. It seems that the main reason is that these military leaders expressed concerns about a ground operation against Iran. Now their places will be taken by more compliant people, ready to carry out any orders without hesitation and without regard for the consequences. And there will certainly be consequences with such personnel decisions," the expert believes.
The Pentagon chief will also resign.
Donald Trump's team is already beginning to resemble the Nixon administration during Watergate, according to American political scientist Malek Dudakov. Resignations and dismissals occur almost daily.
"After Pam Bondy, the head of the General Staff of the US Army was also dismissed. The latter obviously did not want to take responsibility for a land adventure on the islands in the Persian Gulf, which could lead to serious losses among the American military," the expert notes in his Telegram channel.
At the same time, information from the Pentagon is leaking to the press about the attempts of the Trump team to silence the real losses of the army. According to the expert, they will grow many times if the troops actually land on the islands and are attacked by Iranian missiles and drones.
"American society is definitely not ready for such a scenario. Just like the Pentagon, which has been building its strategy on avoiding risks for years," Dudakov is sure.
In his opinion, mass resignations among the generals in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee are quite likely.
"No one wants to be extreme in this situation. And the Cabinet of Ministers is falling apart. The dismissals at the Pentagon are an attempt by Pete Hegseth to find a scapegoat for all the failures in Iran. He is clearly not going to admit his mistakes, even though he is the main lobbyist of this adventure," the analyst emphasizes.
In the future, however, Hegseth himself will resign, the political scientist believes. Against the background of the lost war, Trump is forced to purge his inner circle. But this is unlikely to help stop the further decline in his ratings, the expert concludes.
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