Latest U.S. Department of Defense News

The Latest: Trump wants to send immigrants who are in the US illegally to Guantanamo Bay

Jan. 29, 2025 18:09 PM EST

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is directing the opening of a detention center at Guantanamo Bay to hold up to 30,000 immigrants who are living illegally in the United States. People who are in the United States illegally and are accused of theft and violent crimes would have to be...

Defense secretary pulls Trump critic Gen. Milley's security clearance and protective detail

Jan. 29, 2025 17:58 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is pulling security protections and clearance for Gen. Mark Milley, retired Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, and has ordered the Pentagon's inspector general to review Milley's actions while serving as the nation's top uniformed officer to determine...

Pentagon agency pauses celebrations for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month and more

Jan. 29, 2025 17:51 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department's intelligence agency has paused observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance and other cultural or historical annual events in response to President Donald Trump’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion programs...

Trump is looking to boot transgender troops from the military. Here's why that's complicated

Jan. 29, 2025 15:51 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has launched his second bid to oust all transgender troops from the military, and once again it will be headed to the courts to sort it out. Although the new order will affect only a tiny fraction of America's 2.1 million service members, it...

A US shutdown on foreign aid is hitting worldwide. Rubio adds more exemptions

Jan. 28, 2025 21:16 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S.-funded aid programs around the world were firing staff and shutting down or preparing to stop operations, as the Trump administration's unprecedented freeze on almost all foreign assistance brought their work to a sudden halt. Secretary of State Marco Rubio,...

Trump order aims to end federal support for gender transitions for those under 19

Jan. 28, 2025 21:03 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order aimed at cutting federal support for gender transitions for people under age 19, his latest move to roll back protections for transgender people across the country. “It is the policy of the United...

What has changed with immigration under Trump and what is still playing out?

Jan. 28, 2025 12:51 PM EST

SAN DIEGO (AP) — During his first week in office, President Donald Trump signed 10 executive orders on immigration and issued a slew of edicts to carry out promises of mass deportations and border security. Some actions were felt immediately. Others face legal challenges. Some may...

Trump’s nominee for Pentagon weapons buyer was a key figure in the president's first impeachment

Jan. 28, 2025 10:57 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's nominee to be the military's top weapons buyer is an official who directed the Pentagon to withhold aid from Ukraine in 2019 as Trump sought a commitment from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate the Biden family — a key component of the...

Trump signs an order to revise the Pentagon’s policy on transgender troops

Jan. 28, 2025 08:04 AM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to revise the Pentagon’s policy on transgender troops, likely setting in motion a future ban on their military service. He also on Monday ordered troops to be reinstated...

Trump directs Pentagon to come up with transgender troop policy that likely sets in motion a future ban on their service

Jan. 27, 2025 23:04 PM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump directs Pentagon to come up with transgender troop policy that likely sets in motion a future ban on their service.