Yeah well, I’m not sure anyone could count them from memory, without taking time to consult an AI source. That tells me you’ll probably need one of those articulated, double-long city buses that are in such favor these days.
Even so, The Cabinet names that belong in the discussion are:
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security. Trump threw her under in March of 2026 and shifted her to an envoy position.
Pam Bondi, Attorney General. Trump ousted her in April of 2026. His public announcement actually praised her as a “Great American Patriot and a loyal friend.” That’s what loyalty gets you.
Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Secretary of Labor. Less known to the public, she resigned under pressure in April.
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, Cabinet-level. She announced her departure rather than being publicly fired, so crawled under the bus before being thrown.
Beyond the Cabinet, the numbers build:
Seventeen inspectors general were summarily fired in January 2025, and Trump failed to provide the legally required detailed reasons and advance notice.
As the beat went on, independent-agency officials got he hook, including Rebecca Slaughter, Alvaro Bedoya, Gwynne Wilcox, Cathy Harris, Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels.
Then, of course, there’s senior military leadership.
By September 2026, more than two dozen senior military officers had been forced out during the Trump/Hegseth Pentagon shake-up. Concentrating on only the women senior officers, the list would include,
Adm. Lisa Franchetti — U.S. Navy, four-star admiral. Chief of Naval Operations and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She was the first woman ever to lead the Navy and the first woman on the Joint Chiefs. Removed in February 2025 without a specific individual explanation.
Wow!Adm. Linda Fagan — U.S. Coast Guard, four-star admiral. Commandant of the Coast Guard and the first woman in American history to lead a branch of the armed forces. Fired January 20, 2025. Unlike Franchetti, the administration did state reasons for Fagan’s dismissal, including alleged leadership and operational deficiencies and excessive emphasis on DEI. Naughty, naughty.
Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield — U.S. Navy, three-star admiral. U.S. military representative to the NATO Military Committee. Fired in April, 2025. NATO wasn’t high on the Prez’s list at the time.
Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short, U.S. Air Force, three-star general. Senior Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense; previously an A-10 pilot and C-130 navigator. Dismissed in 2025.
Lt. Gen. Telita Crosland, U.S. Army, another three-star general. Director of the Defense Health Agency, responsible for the military health system. She was removed and forced into retirement after a 32-year career. And,
Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, U.S. Navy Reserve, three-star admiral. Chief of Navy Reserve and commander of Navy Reserve Force. She was removed from the position in 2025.
Apparently, there was insufficient testosterone among the ladies, regardless of their incredible rise in a military dominated by men.
There is an additional category with which we should pay particular attention.
Women in the military who weren’t actually fired, but sidelined, reassigned, denied promotion, or effectively encouraged to retire. A significant example is Vice Adm. Yvette Davids. Davids was a former Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, who and was reassigned.
Subsequent investigations found that women and Black officers were disproportionately singled out by Hegseth’s promotion interventions. The most egregious fact in this military blood-bath is the rank involved: two four-star and at least four three-star women were among the early removals. According to CBS, there are now no remaining active-duty four-star female generals or admirals in the U.S. military.
An almost unbelievable degree of military brass shines out under Trump’s bus.
The greater point (if there can be a point greater than the destruction of military careers for gender reasons) is the degree of trust lost to this president. When one is asked, appointed, or selected to serve a sitting president of the United States, trust in his judgement and character are among the first circumstances required.
When that is either missing or lost, his closest advisors or associates live under the shadow of dismissals. No position is secure, no advice without danger and, most importantly, no honest appraisals without the shadow of those previously thrown under the bus, and the frivolous circumstances of that constant possibility.
Is that how dictators come to power?
It’s a question worth asking.