WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the Pentagon’s top military planner, a defense official said Wednesday, the latest in a series of generals to be ousted and one that comes even as President Donald Trump is weighing renewed strikes on Iran in the eight-month-long war.
Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia was removed as head of strategy, plans and policy on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is the second general to be ousted from the post, known in military circles as the “J5,” under Hegseth. His predecessor, Lt. Gen. Joseph McGee, was forced to retire last October.
The defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters, said there is no immediate replacement for Sylvia and no reason has been given for the firing. The move was reported earlier by The Atlantic.
A spokesperson for the Joint Staff said “the Chairman, the Joint Staff, and the Joint Force extend our deepest gratitude to Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia and his family for their 32 years of distinguished service to our nation” and they "wish him and his family the best.”
Typically, the J5 director and their staff are responsible for generating and coordinating military plans with both the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the president. Sylvia's firing comes as Trump has repeatedly floated starting new military operations against Iran.
Trump has vowed to “finish the job” in Iran after launching the war with Israel eight months ago and said new strikes are an option after the midterm elections next week.
U.S. officials have told several Middle East countries and regional allies to be prepared for potential renewed military action after Tuesday's elections as well as for the possibility that Iran will attempt to retaliate against them, two diplomats briefed on the matter said. They say Trump has not made a final decision on new strikes.
A third U.S. aircraft carrier and thousands of additional troops are making their way to the region.
Before arriving at the Joint Staff, Sylvia served as the commander of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, until May 2025, according to his official biography, which has now been taken offline. He also previously served as the vice director for the J5.
He is the latest in nearly two dozen generals, admirals and other military leaders to be fired, forced to retire or otherwise depart under Hegseth's tenure — almost all of which have not been publicly explained by the Pentagon. That includes the civilian secretaries of the Army and Navy as well as some top uniformed officers for the military services.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment late Wednesday.
Hegseth said last month that he ordered the military to double the cuts to the overall number of top officers to a 20% decrease to be completed by Jan. 1, 2027. There are currently roughly 800 flag and general officer positions.
“I call it accountability and long overdue,” Hegseth told junior officers and enlisted leaders at the Marine Corps Base Quantico on Sept. 30.
Some members of Congress have criticized cuts to the ranks of generals as a “purge” that will take years to rebuild.
“He’s got some kind of like deep-seated grievance about leadership in the military,” Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a former Navy combat pilot who has been critical of Hegseth, said last month. “He’s purging a generation of great leaders of the military, and it’s going to take a generation to recover from it.”
Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Washington and Samy Magdy in New York contributed to this report.
This photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Maj. Gen. Brett Sylvia, at a 101st Airborne Division change of command ceremony at Fort Campbell, Ky., May 30, 2025. (Sgt. Timothy Jackson/U.S Army via AP)
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers' Informal Meeting in Cebu, central Philippines, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (Jam Sta Rosa/Pool Photo via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department filed notice Wednesday night that President Donald Trump's announcements that there are plans for renovating the East Potomac Golf Course and there are plans to close the park beginning Nov. 15 are accurate.
“On Friday, October 30, 2026, the National Park Service will submit to the National Capital Planning Commission for review a rendering designed by Tom Fazio for a World Class, championship-level golf course that is capable of hosting major events—such as the U.S. Open" and other events.
"Thereafter, on November 15, 2026, the National Park Service will close East Potomac Park south of Buckeye Drive, including the Golf Course, consistent with the President’s directive," the filing said.
The planning commission will consider the plan at its Dec. 3 meeting.
The announcement is the latest move in a 10-day period that started with a social media posting by Trump Oct. 18 that the park would be closed Nov. 15 for the next 15 months while the park undergoes renovation into what the president has called a world-class facility.
Trump's social media postings touched off a series of court hearings in the lawsuit filed by the DC Preservation League and two golfers challenging the plans. U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes issued a preliminary injunction Oct. 26, due in part to the discrepancy between the president's public announcements and the testimony from various National Park Service, Interior Department and Justice Department officials who testified that they had no knowledge of the plans Trump was announcing.
The current preliminary injunction temporarily bars the government from removing or damaging any additional trees on the East Potomac Golf Course. The administration must give 10 days’ notice in writing before making any “irreparable modification” to any “forms or features” of the course while the lawsuit is active.
Reyes was planning another hearing to bring officials back to court to explain why the president continued to announce plans that officials said they had no knowledge of.
Wednesday's filing explained that the National Park Service entered into a new lease agreement with the National Links Trust — the company currently responsible for operating the East Potomac Golf Course — under which the National Links Trust will cease operating the East Potomac Golf Course as of the close of business on or before Nov. 15, but will continue to operate two other public golf courses.
Trump's social media posts on the renovation of the historic golf course had put Justice Department lawyers in the uncomfortable position of explaining whether the president of the United States should be believed or not.
On Tuesday, Reyes said the department should clarify “whether any plan exists to close East Potomac Golf Course on or around November 15, 2026.” She ordered Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. to appear in court Friday or Monday for a status hearing. On Wednesday, she then issued an order for Woodward to appear on Friday, along with at least one person from the Department of the Interior's Office of the Solicitor “with pre-existing experience on this case.”
Tuesday’s order came in response to Trump’s social media post late Monday criticizing Reyes’ temporary injunction stopping work at East Potomac Park.
That injunction, issued Monday, was in large part due to previous Trump announcements — via social media — that plans had been completed for the golf course and construction would begin next month. Trump said the facility would be closed for 15 months. The following day he set the timetable to “immediately.”
Much of the activity in the court has accelerated this month, after the government gave the plaintiffs in the case short notice on plans to cut down hundreds of trees at the course.
The plaintiffs challenging the project claim the work is inflicting irreversible damage. Critics say Trump’s plan will make playing there unaffordable for the general public and destroy the site’s other uses.
In a Wednesday night posting on Truth Social, Trump called the golf course “highly dangerous, dilapidated, and absolutely disgusting." He added that Reyes would be held responsible for anyone injured or killed at the course.
“No one will be more thrilled by our plans to renovate the Course and Driving Range than the Local Golfers who have played there for years, and have begged to have their Home Course brought into pristine condition," he wrote.
The course renovation project is part of Trump’s aggressive campaign to leave his personal imprint on Washington’s historic landscape.
Those plans include construction of a huge ballroom at the White House, a massive arch, and the creation of a National Garden of American Heroes in West Potomac Park. The DC Preservation League is part of a coalition of organizations, including the Cultural Landscape Foundation and one D.C. resident, who have filed lawsuits challenging those plans.
There are several cases where judges have taken actions and issued injunctions or restraining orders because of the Trump administration’s push to begin work despite the pending lawsuits.
A golfer watches as trees are removed at East Potomac Park Golf Course, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
