Former top Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot “was asked to resign,” a Defense Department official said in an emailed statement on Thursday evening.
Why it matters: Despite this announcement, Ullyot maintains he offered his resignation, telling Axios late Thursday that “DoD officials who hide behind anonymous statements clearly resent that they did not have the access or relationship to Secretary [Pete] Hegseth that I enjoyed under President Trump’s leadership.”
- He added in his emailed statement: “Their sour-grapes anonymous spin is as inaccurate as it is laughable.” Representatives for the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment in the evening on Ullyot’s statement.
- Ullyot’s resignation comes during a staffing overhaul at the Pentagon that saw three politically appointed senior aides to Hegseth placed on administrative leave amidst an investigation into Defense Department leaks.
The big picture: Politico first reported on Wednesday that Ullyot would leave the Pentagon on Friday and AP first reported on Thursday’s announcement and the former Pentagon press secretary’s denial that he was asked to resign.
- Ullyot oversaw responses to outrage at the Defense Department’s removal — and subsequent restoration — of webpages related to baseball and civil rights legend Jackie Robinson and the Navajo Code Talkers as part of a Trump administration crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
- The Marine veteran also held senior roles in the first Trump administration and served in a top communications role during the president’s 2016 campaign.
Read former top Pentagon spokesperson John Ullyot’s resignation letter that he shared with AP, via DocumentCloud:
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with comment from former Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot and further context.