RED HERRING

Trump's campaign against noncitizen voting demonstrates it's rare and not enough to swing elections

NICHOLAS RICCARDI and GARY FIELDS
Wed, September 30, 2026 


Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Washington, as Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, looks on. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Washington, as Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin and Daniel Rosen, U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, look on. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Daniel Rosen, U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice, Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Washington, as Attorney General Todd Blanche, left, and Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, look on. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration's campaign to root out noncitizen voting is demonstrating what critics of President Donald Trump's election conspiracy theories have long argued — that it's incredibly rare, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of elections.

The administration has dedicated enormous resources to what election experts and administrators characterize as a comparatively small issue — noncitizens who, often due to misunderstanding the law, add their votes to the tens of millions of ballots cast during national elections.

On Wednesday, Attorney General Todd Blanche announced federal charges against 10 people in Minnesota alleged to have voted illegally over the last three elections, a period in which more than 8 million ballots were cast in the state.

"We're focused on providing accountability and restoring trust in our elections," Blanche said, lamenting that the media did not take seriously the charges for voter fraud his office has brought.

He said those added up to 90 for various types of election misconduct, including 50 against people who are alleged to have voted as noncitizens.

Even the 90 cases, which conflate voter fraud cases involving citizens of both political parties with those alleging noncitizen voting, are nominal in terms of the number of votes cast during presidential elections. It's nowhere near enough votes to swing any significant federal or even state election.

The U.S. had nearly 228 million registered voters for the 2024 presidential election, with more than 152 million ballots cast.

"They're incredibly low numbers no matter how you slice it," said Aaron Blacksberg of the Institute for Responsive Government, who was on a panel of election officials and experts on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., just before Blanche's announcement.
Noncitizen voting is part of administration's messaging about widespread voter fraud

The continuing drumbeat from the administration about voter fraud and noncitizens casting ballots, even when their own investigations show it's rare, is one reason Democrats, civil rights groups and many election officials are bracing for the possibility of Trump intervening in the November vote.

The election officials who gathered with Blacksberg held a media roundtable during which they reassured voters that they are prepared for any possible disruptions this fall.

Democrats and civil rights groups have filed multiple lawsuits to try to prevent the Trump administration from sending armed agents to the polls, something the administration insists it will not do. Trump has lamented that he did not order the military to seize voting machines in 2020, leading many election officials and Democrats to brace for that possibility in the fall.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a letter to a U.S. senator last month that there are no such plans for the military.

The scarcity of actual fraud or voting by noncitizens was one reason why election officials, courts and some of Trump's own officials rejected his claims that he lost the 2020 election due to massive fraud. Now back in office, Trump has launched a sweeping probe to try to retroactively prove his false claims. His administration has directed Homeland Security and other federal agents to scour voter rolls to identify noncitizen voters. A whistleblower statement filed earlier this month with Congress says the effort may violate state laws and gives agents only 12 minutes to determine whether a flagged person is actually a citizen.

Distinguishing any noncitizens on voter rolls from the many legal voters who may have similar names, birth dates or other identifying information is why many voting rights groups and Democrats have resisted the administration's aggressive campaign. They worry it would disenfranchise more legal voters than it would block illegal ones.
Plenty of evidence to show that noncitizen voting is a minuscule problem

There's a history behind those concerns. In Kansas, a 2011 law requiring proof of citizenship to vote blocked the registration of more than 31,000 U.S. citizens before a federal judge declared the law unconstitutional.

Trump pushed Republicans to pass a law reminiscent of the Kansas measure, but it could not overcome resistance in the Senate from Democrats and even some Republicans. The president then tried to limit mail voting through executive action, but that was blocked by the courts and ultimately stopped from taking effect for the midterms by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The administration has routinely issued press releases noting large numbers of "suspected" noncitizen voters in certain areas, only to have to later amend the total to something far less.

In July, Trump claimed Nevada had 1,500 noncitizen voters on its rolls, but after his administration had to identify them to the state, the number of actual registered noncitizens turned out to be zero.

More recently, the top election official in Arizona's Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, announced that the Trump administration's noncitizen database flagged 60 possible noncitizen voters in a county where more than 2 million voters cast ballots in 2024. The actual number of illegal voters, disclosed by county prosecutors when they filed charges this week, was eight. The Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to use that database to find purported illegal voters during November's election.

Investigations in previous years resulted in similar findings. In Ohio, prosecutors secured indictments against nine people for voting as noncitizens over the span of 10 years. The state has some 8 million registered voters. During the presidential election two years ago, Georgia's secretary of state found that just 20 of the state's 8.2 million registered voters were not U.S. citizens.

On Wednesday, Blanche acknowledged that such cases were sporadic and not connected, undercutting the notion — promoted by Trump himself — that they are tied to some vast conspiracy to throw elections: "I don't think we can say there's a pattern we've identified," Blanche said. "You know, I think that — that every case is different."
DOJ's 10 charges in Minnesota amount to tiny fraction of 8.5 million ballots cast

Administration officials continued to toss around large-sounding numbers during the news conference. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin claimed his agency "has 1,600 voter fraud cases that we're investigating and 300,000 more that we're getting to."

Daniel Rosen, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, alleged that "the state itself fosters an environment that seems to encourage non-citizens to break the law and vote."

In a statement, the office of Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat, noted that it is a felony for a noncitizen to cast a ballot.

"These indictments affirm the fact that noncitizen voting is a vanishingly rare crime," it said. "If these indictments result in convictions, that will amount to ten individuals over a period in which around 8.5 million votes were cast in Minnesota."

Voters must attest that they are U.S. citizens when they register to vote. Violating that can be punishable as a felony, leading to jail time and deportation.

Blanche alluded to the complexity and effort that go into these probes.

"These cases aren't easy, right? So if you get a list of suspected voters who shouldn't be voting, whether they're here illegally or they're just not eligible to vote because they're aliens, you can't just go and arrest them. There's a full investigation that" the federal government has to do.

Election experts say that's why federal law enforcement has traditionally not mobilized to combat an issue that is almost nonexistent. Most voter fraud cases are prosecuted locally.

"It does appear that there have been a lot of resources redirected away from things like violent crime and counterterrorism, which is where Homeland Security usually focuses its efforts," said David Becker, a former Department of Justice attorney who now runs the Center for Election Innovation & Research.

Becker added that it would not have been "unusual at all in past administrations to deprioritize" the voting focus because "it's just such a small issue."

___

Riccardi reported from Denver.

'I'd rather die here than in Africa': Migrants describe violent deportation flight

Kate Linthicum
Tue, September 29, 2026

 Los Angeles Times.


A man in restraints boards an Eastern Air Express plane at Dallas Love Field on July 28 in Texas.

(Elias Valverde II / the Dallas Morning News via Getty Images)

On a tarmac in Texas, federal agents repeatedly ordered a group of shackled immigrants off a bus and onto an airplane that they had heard was destined for Africa.

Many complied, but some men refused. They had sought protection in the U.S. after fleeing repressive governments and asked to speak to lawyers before being deported to a faraway continent.

"Tell us where you're taking us," Kenis Adalberto López, a 44-year-old from Nicaragua, said he told immigration agents through tears. "I'd rather die here than in Africa."

Eventually, an agent boarded the bus and fired pepper balls at the men, according to interviews with three of them. López, who was hit twice in the chest with projectiles, said he was strapped to a stretcher and carried onto the plane, where he was restrained for the roughly 24-hour journey to Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic.

More than 25,000 people have been expelled from the U.S. under a Trump administration program to deport asylum seekers and other migrants to "third countries" where they have no ties.

A federal appeals court ordered a pause on the program last week, saying the government failed to give migrants "a meaningful opportunity" to challenge their deportations to third countries. The Trump administration vowed to take the case to the Supreme Court, with Atty. Gen. Todd Blanche describing the program as "an entirely legal and invaluable tool to ‌stem the tide ‌of illegal immigration."

The administration has routinely said that its enforcement operations are carried out in compliance with federal law and that detainees are treated humanely.

People in restraints are seen standing outside a bus before boarding an Eastern Air Express flight at Dallas Love Field on July 28 in Dallas. (Elias Valverde II / the Dallas Morning News )

The Aug. 29 deportation of López and 42 others to Bangui highlights the sometimes violent tactics that officials have used to force detainees onto flights out of the U.S. — and the perils that await them once they land.

López and others recounted their journey in phone interviews from Africa.

The plane carried migrants from several countries, including Iran, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Human rights lawyers say that many of them, including an Afghan man whose brothers worked with the U.S. military, had no criminal records and had been granted a special protection that barred them from being returned to their home countries because they had proved to a judge that they faced possible torture there.

Two of the men who resisted boarding the plane were kept in full-body restraint suits resembling straitjackets for much of the flight, according to witnesses. All of the deportees were shackled at the ankles and wrists while in the air.

After stops in two other African countries, the plane touched down in the Central African Republic, one of the world's poorest nations and the site of an ongoing civil war between Muslim and Christian rebels that has claimed tens of thousands of lives over the last 15 years. The primary languages are Sango and French.

The migrants were given shots for yellow fever and taken to a housing complex, where they remain today, monitored at all times by armed guards.

Workers unload a truck containing bags full of onions coming from Cameroon to Bangui in the Central African Republic on March 5, 2025. (Patrick Meinhardt / AFP via Getty Images)

Bangui, which sits across a wide river from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is battling a recent cholera outbreak and faces water shortages and power outages.

Crime is rampant, with the U.S. government itself warning Americans not to visit the Central African Republic because of "unrest, crime, kidnapping, landmines, health issues and terrorism."

Three flights carrying U.S. deportees have arrived there since June, according to human rights groups tracking the issue. Many complain that U.S. immigration agents confiscated their identity documents upon detention and never returned them, making it all but impossible to leave the country. Their immigration status in the Central African Republic is unclear.

Two men who arrived on a July 31 flight recounted being kidnapped on the street by armed men who they believe were police officers.

Yasmani Moreno said he and the other detainee each had to pay the equivalent of $100 to be released.

Moreno, 31, who arrived in Florida on a raft from Cuba in 2016, was initially allowed to stay in the U.S. under the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, which until 2017 let Cubans who reached U.S. soil remain in the country. His temporary permit expired before he obtained a green card.

He has documented his time in Africa extensively on TikTok, taking his followers for walks along Bangui's muddy streets. "They sent me to a failed state," he said in an interview.

Campaign billboards in Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, tout President Faustin-Archange Touadera, center, and other candidates in 2025. Touadera's government has agreed to accept third-country deportees from the United States. (Annela Niamolo / AFP via Getty Images)More

After decades of coups and strife, government forces have sought to disband many militia groups there, sometimes with the help of mercenaries with the Wagner Group, a Russia-based military contractor accused of human rights abuses. International experts have denounced President Faustin-Archange Touadera's repression of the opposition and push to eliminate term limits as worrisome turns toward autocracy.

For deportees who came to the U.S. after fleeing authoritarian countries, an unknown future in another undemocratic nation is frightening.

Luis Mendoza Santamaría, 38, left, stands with other migrants in Bangui, Central African Republic, on Sept. 23. . (Anela Faustina / For The Times)

Luis Mendoza Santamaría , 38, escaped Nicaragua after he marched in 2018 pro-democracy protests that were violently suppressed by the left-wing Sandinista government. He asked for political asylum at the U.S. border. A judge denied his request, but granted him protection from deportation under the international Convention Against Torture. For years, he led a quiet life working as a waiter in hotels in Washington, D.C.

In the past, people with such protection were generally allowed to stay and work in the U.S. indefinitely.

But in February, Mendoza went to a regular immigration check-in and was detained. He was held in jails across the U.S., he said, until he was taken by bus to the tarmac in Texas on Aug. 28.

President Trump, in his push to expel 1 million people annually, has vastly expanded the pool of migrants eligible for deportation, with asylum seekers and people who a judge said may be tortured upon return now making up a growing share of detainees.

The U.S. has earmarked around half a billion dollars in aid to third countries who agree to take deportees, according to an investigation by the nonprofit journalism consortium Forbidden Stories, which found that in some cases, deportees sent to third countries were later returned against their will to their home nations.

"This is a deliberate attempt by the Trump administration to place refugees whom the U.S. government has determined need protection directly in harm's way," said Savi Arvey, director of policy for refugee and immigrant rights at Human Rights First.

Luis Mendoza Santamaría, who came to the U.S. from Nicaragua, said he was never notified that he was going to be deported to Africa. (Anela Faustina / For The Times)

Mendoza said he was never notified that he was going to be sent to Africa — but that he and fellow deportees had heard rumors about flights there and suspected their fate when they saw the size of the plane they were being ordered to board. He said he was struck twice in the back and once in the knee with canisters containing pepper spray after he resisted boarding; pains from the blows persist.

After arriving in Bangui, he said, he went days without eating and sleeping, and suffered what he described as a mental breakdown.

"This is inhuman," he said. "It's psychological violence."

A bronze statue of the late Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, left, and his top aide, Dmitry Utkin, in front of the Russian House in Bangui in 2024. (Annela Niamolo / AFP via Getty Images)

He is worried in particular about ties between the Central African Republic and Russia, which is an ally of Nicaragua's Sandinista government.

Sandinista operatives are suspected in a series of shootings, abductions and killings of Nicaraguan exiles in Costa Rica in recent years. Mendoza wonders whether he is safe.

He has been following the news in the U.S. — including the recent appeals court ruling against the third country deportation program. His lawyer has urged him to look for another country that might grant him political asylum, but Mendoza still holds out hope that the U.S. will welcome him back.

"There will be justice," he said. "There's still a democracy there."

Linthicum reported from Mexico City. Special correspondent Ismael López in Jacksonville, Fla., contributed to this report.

G20 trade ministers are meeting in Wisconsin. Many will be discussing deals without their U.S. host

CBC
Wed, September 30, 2026 


Minister of International Trade Maninder Sidhu, right, and India's Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal before a bilateral meeting in Ottawa on May 25. Sidhu said he is planning to meet the Indian delegation again at the G20 trade meeting in Milwaukee, Wisc., which starts today. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press - image credit)More

When trade ministers from some of the world's largest economies gather in Wisconsin today, it will be hard to ignore the red white and blue elephant in the room.

Most of the officials attending the G20 trade ministers' meeting in Milwaukee find themselves in challenging positions, largely because of U.S. President Donald Trump's global tariff agenda.

Some, including Canada, have been forced to rethink and reshape trading relationships due to the new tariffs, barriers, and uncertainty imposed by the Trump administration as it pursues what it describes as an America-first agenda.

All of this makes for a potentially unusual summit, with high-level meetings on the sidelines where different countries discuss plans to work around the host.

That is part of Canada's goal here, as it seeks to advance talks with global trading partners as the government works to reduce dependency on the U.S. economy where it can.

"In a more unpredictable world, trade diversification is Canada's Plan A," said International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu.

"In the past year, our non-U.S. trade has increased by 17 per cent, or $33 billion, and nearly one-third of Canadian exports now go to destinations outside the United States, the highest share in 40 years," he said in an email sent in response to multiple questions from CBC News.

The Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisc., pictured on Tuesday, is set to host the meeting of G20 trade ministers. (Sylvia Thomson/CBC)

Sidhu is leading the Canadian delegation, not Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc, since this is a gathering of international counterparts.

While Sidhu is expected to cross paths with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, the top Trump administration negotiator, this is not expected to be a forum to potentially resuscitate Canada-U.S. trade talks.

Negotiations between the two countries broke down in August, after Canada rejected the latest U.S. deal. Greer and LeBlanc both say they have spoken by phone multiple times per week ever since, including as recently as last Friday.

The latest American shot against Canada in its trade war landed Tuesday, when an import ban on certain Canadians products, including most alcoholic drinks, came into effect.

Sidhu said he has meetings planned with the delegations from the European Union and India, in the hopes of advancing negotiations with both trading partners.

"We are moving at pace to secure greater access to some of the world's largest and fastest-growing economies," he said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen before a meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Sept. 16. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)More

U.S. pushes for WTO changes

The priorities of the Trump administration, including its tariff agenda, will be showcased over two days of meetings at the summit, according to a news release from the U.S. trade representative's office.

Among the discussions will be "eliminating forced labour in global supply chains" and "addressing structural and excess capacity and production," including a meeting dedicated to steel.

But the issue that stands out the most is the American push to change the World Trade Organization's Most-Favoured Nation (MFN) rules, says Martha Harrison, a Toronto-based trade lawyer who co-leads the international trade and investment team at McCarthy Tétrault.

To simplify a deeply technical and complicated system, the MFN principle is meant to prevent discriminating against another WTO member country.

"You have to give equal treatment to members of the WTO community," and "it has to be the same tariff rate across the board," Harrison told CBC News.

"It is not dramatic to say that if the MFN rule is softened … it will create distinctions and a trade environment globally that is even more unpredictable than it is now."

The Trump administration has long complained about WTO rules, with Greer laying out his case for reform in an opinion essay published in August 2025 by the New York Times.

"The bulk of global manufacturing shifted to jurisdictions such as China, Vietnam, and Mexico where companies could exploit vulnerable workers or benefit from expansive state support while the United States ran up what in absolute terms is the highest trade deficit in the history of the world," Greer wrote.

"The rules of international trade cannot be a suicide pact," he continued, adding that the U.S. has "laid the foundation for a new global trading order," citing an agreement that the U.S. had just signed with the European Union.

Harrison said the U.S. position is that "MFN was designed for a world where countries broadly played by similar rules."

"Washington now argues that some countries benefit from WTO access while pursuing state-led industrial policies or maintaining non-market practices."

However, changing the MFN rules would lead to more uncertainty and confusion for businesses that rely on international supply chains, Harrison said.

"It impacts, ultimately, not just the trading relationship between Canada and the U.S., but trading relationships around the world that are governed by the rules based system," she said.

The WTO has long struggled to find agreement on reforms in the consensus-based organization, as its 166 members are at different stages of economic development and often have conflicting interests.

On Sept. 15, the organization urged its members to reform global trade rules or risk a slide into fragmentation that could significantly reduce economic output and hit poorer countries hardest.

In its annual report, the WTO said existing rules have struggled to keep pace with shifts in economic power, the rise of industrial policy, digital trade and escalating political tensions between major powers.

Letters to the Editor: In using our tax dollars for ads, Trump is playing Americans for fools

Los Angeles Times Opinion
Tue, September 29, 2026 



President Trump at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press)


To the editor: The Trump administration appears to have forgotten that the U.S. Treasury is not a limitless money pot to spend on anything it pleases. It is at best unethical to use the weight of the federal government to support a political campaign, and it may be illegal too ("Call it propaganda or a PSA, Trump's latest ad blitz is paid for by you," Sept. 26). Would anyone in the Trump administration approve of a theoretical Newsom administration using our tax money in this way? I think not — it would rightly be called corrupt and problematic.

If this qualifies as an apolitical "public service announcement" just because President Trump is not on the ballot, then I suppose no issue advocacy ads are political, either, even though we can always discern which party they are intended to support.

Mr. President, it is a dangerous game to play the American people for fools (and to waste their money), especially when your majority is on the line in November. You can start to make amends by pulling this ad off the air and doing one of the things you do best — firing the person who came up with this abysmal idea.

Charlie Henry, Palm Desert

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.



US FCC chair says government ads featuring Trump do not raise concerns

REUTERS

Wed, September 30, 2026 




By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The chair of the US Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday that taxpayer-funded television ads featuring President Donald Trump ‌are not improper and do not raise any red flags.

Democratic lawmakers said ‌the White House transferred $20 million in Homeland Security Department funds to air the ads, including one ​that closely resembles a 2024 Trump campaign ad.


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"There's nothing in there that strikes me to merit any sort of FCC review or any liability for any broadcaster for running a regular, normal (public service announcement)," said FCC Chair Brendan Carr, a Republican who was ‌named head of the agency ⁠by Trump in January 2025.

Ethics experts and lawmakers from both parties have criticized the three nationally broadcast ads, which celebrate a "golden age ⁠of America" and are airing five weeks before midterm elections.

Trump defended the ads on Wednesday. "I'm not running for office," he said. "If somebody said that that's wrong, I'll gladly pay ​the money. ​But, but these are ads for the ​country. ... I'm not promoting a candidate. ‌I'm not promoting myself because I'm not running for office."

Lawmakers have questioned whether public funds are being used to promote Trump politically, while other critics say the spots may violate longstanding restrictions on government propaganda and political activity.


FILE PHOTO: U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr listens to a reporter's question during a press conference, following an open meeting of the FCC, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 22, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper/File PhotoMore

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat, criticized the ads. "This administration has launched an aggressive effort to influence the ‌outcome of the midterm elections," Gomez said.

Public Citizen ​filed a complaint with the FCC arguing the ​spots are campaign advertisements that should ​not be produced or distributed with taxpayer resources.

One ad features Trump ‌declaring that "America will never be a ​communist country" while a ​chorus repeats the words "love me." Another combines images of Mount Rushmore with footage of Trump praising a "golden age of America."

A third describes a "final battle" against ​the "deep state" and closely ‌resembles one of Trump's 2024 campaign advertisements.

The ads end with a disclaimer ​saying they were paid for by the US government.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; ​Editing by David Gaffen and Sanjeev Miglani)

When Trump boasts about donating his presidential salary, be sure to read the fine print

Steve Benen
Wed, September 30, 2026 
 MS NOW.


US President Donald Trump gestures as he stands onstage after concluding his remarks during the second day of the Republican National Committee midterm convention at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on September 10, 2026. US Republicans are betting that putting President Donald Trump at the center of their campaign can rescue a party facing grim election forecasts, despite the president's negative approval ratings. A day earlier, on the first day of the midterm convention, he promised $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans retain control of Congress in November. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)More

At a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration Wednesday at the White House, President Donald Trump repeated a variety of familiar boasts, but he seemed especially interested in talking about how impressive it is that he doesn't accept his presidential salary.

"In my first term, I donated it and I don't think I ever got a story about it," Trump whined, adding, "But in my second term, I donated it, too."

The comments came a day after Trump, while unveiling an artificial intelligence chatbot, similarly bragged, "I don't take my salary. They think that no other president has ever served without receiving their salary." (I'm not sure who "they" are, but Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy also donated their presidential salaries.)

Earlier this year in Georgia, the president pushed the same false line about American history, saying: "I'm the only schmuck. I get no credit for it. You know what, I get no credit for it. Nobody writes about it." (In reality, lots of news outlets have written about it.)

As best as I can tell, Trump really does waive his presidential salary, but before anyone rushes to give him credit for his magnanimity, this is one of those claims that comes with important fine print.

The base annual salary for an American president is $400,000, none of which the Republican incumbent accepts. But — and this is the important part — Trump doesn't need the $400,000 a year because he's already profiting off the presidency.

As a candidate for the nation's highest office, Trump vowed to reject "the politics of personal profit" and to stand up to those who have gone to the nation's capital and "lined their pockets." But as a president, Trump has practically sent his pants out to the tailors to get bigger pockets.

In the first year of his second term, the Republican pulled in at least $2.2 billion, including more than $1.4 billion in cryptocurrency-related income, according to his latest annual financial disclosure.

No other president in American history has ever seen such financial gains while in office, and as a recent analysis from The New York Times explained, "Mr. Trump's profits are a haul once unimaginable for any leader of a liberal democracy, particularly a sitting American president. No modern Western leader has ever publicly disclosed such big windfalls while in office. The Trump family's earnings, experts said, have moved him into an echelon of enrichment more associated with strongmen in Russia and Turkey."

In other words, the next time he brags about forgoing his $400,000 salary, remember that he took home more than five times that amount just last year.

This post updates our related earlier coverage.

THE BILLIONAIRE VS. THE DOCTOR

Vivek Ramaswamy dealt double polling blow against Amy Acton within 24 hours

Andrew Stanton
Tue, September 29, 2026 

NEWSWEEK

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy trailed Democrat Amy Acton in two new polls of the Ohio governor's race released Tuesday by Marist University and Suffolk University, a blow to the GOP candidate in the conservative-leaning state just five weeks before the midterm elections.

Democrats are hoping to stage a comeback in Ohio this year. The Buckeye State was once a battleground that backed former President Barack Obama in the 2008 and 2012 elections but has since shifted rightward, backing President Donald Trump three times, including a double-digit victory in 2024.

Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur who rose to national prominence during his 2024 presidential run, is running against Acton, who led the Ohio Department of Health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The race is expected to be one of the closest of the midterms, with forecasters like the Cook Political Report considering it a toss-up.

Amy Acton, left, attends a campaign event in Marietta, Ohio, on September 17, while Vivek Ramaswamy, right, speaks during a watch party on May 5 in Columbus, Ohio.

Acton led by 9 points, 50 percent to 41 percent, in the Suffolk poll. It is her strongest lead in any survey since February. Meanwhile, she held a 6-point lead in the Marist poll, 50 percent to 44 percent.

A third poll released later Tuesday by Big Data Poll showed Ramaswamy with a slight lead, 45.1 percent to 42.7 percent.

The closeness of the race is a "testament to the difficult environment Republicans face this year," Robert Alexander, professor of political science at Bowling Green State University, told Newsweek.

"Not only is their party in charge during a midterm election—which usually spells trouble for that party—but views on the economy have been especially negative over the past year," he said. "Most people think the state and the country are moving in the wrong direction and that the economy was better last year than it is now."

Still, Republicans could close the gap before Election Day, he said, adding that whether or not Republicans turn out to vote will make the difference.

"The state is more aligned with Republicans, but again, there is a lot of frustration and many independents also seem to have turned against Republicans in the polling thus far," Alexander also said.

The Suffolk poll surveyed 500 likely voters from September 23 to September 27, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. The Marist poll surveyed 1,298 registered voters from September 24 to September 27, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points. The Big Data Poll surveyed 735 registered voters, 680 of whom were likely voters, on September 26 and September 27.

Acton, Ramaswamy Campaigns React to New Polls

Ramaswamy spokesperson Evan Machan downplayed the polling in a statement to Newsweek.

"Every election year, the media does the exact same thing: they follow public polls, build their coverage around them, and treat them like gospel. And every election year, those polls are inevitably wrong. You would think at some point the media would learn the lesson, but every cycle they fall for it all over again," Machan said.

Acton's Campaign Manager Philip Stein told Newsweek that voters in Ohio are "ready to elect Acton because they know she's the only choice who has proven she'll show up anywhere and work with anyone to bring down costs, clean up corruption, and work towards an Ohio where everyone can thrive."

"While out-of-touch billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy and his billionaire buddies try to buy this election by spending tens of millions of dollars flooding the airwaves with misleading AI ads, Dr. Acton has remained laser-focused on running a grassroots campaign traveling to every corner of Ohio," Stein said.
Amy Acton's Lead Powered by Women, Independent Voters

The pair of polls found that independent voters and women are bolstering Acton's showing in the state.

Acton led by 25 points among independents, 57 percent to 32 percent, in the Marist poll. She also led by 12 points among women, 53 percent to 41 percent.

In the Suffolk poll, Acton led independents by 37 points, 64 percent to 27 percent. She led women by 19 points, 55 percent to 36 percent.

For comparison, Trump won both groups in the state in 2024. He won independents by 2 points, 50 percent to 48 percent, and women by a single point, 50 percent to 49 percent, according to CNN.

Despite Trump's strong showing in Ohio just two years ago, Democrats have targeted the state amid a more favorable national environment. Republicans are facing voter backlash over the ongoing state of the economy and the high cost of living. Soaring gas prices amid the Iran war have also added pressure to Americans' finances ahead of the midterms.

Historically, the party of the president suffers midterm losses when his approval rating is low, and Democrats believe Trump's approval rating reaching record lows could open the door to winning back voters in states like Ohio.
What Other Polls Show About Ohio Governor's Race

The Ohio governor's race is expected to be one of the closest of the midterms, and recent polling reflects that.

A poll from YouGov and Bowling Green State University released this month gave Acton a 3-point lead, 48 percent to 45 percent. It surveyed 1,000 likely voters from September 1 to September 10, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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Ramaswamy, however, held a 2-point lead in a Fox News poll, 50 percent to 48 percent. It surveyed 1,008 registered voters from August 6 to August 10 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
What Prediction Markets Show

Prediction markets show a close race, with Acton having a 61 percent chance of victory on Kalshi, and carrying a 62 percent chance of victory on Polymarket as of Tuesday.

Prediction markets allow traders to buy and sell contracts tied to political outcomes and current events, aggregating real‑money wagers into probability estimates.

Prices fluctuate as traders react to polling, fundraising, candidate developments and broader political trends. They measure trader sentiment at a given moment but do not always accurately predict the future.
How Ohio Shifted From Purple to Red

Trump won Ohio by about 11 percentage points in 2024, an improvement on his 2020 and 2016 performances, when he won by about 8 points each time. But Ohio was viewed as more competitive for Democrats not long before. Obama narrowly carried Ohio in 2008 and 2012.

Alexander said the state has a "strong populist streak," and Democrats are working to appeal to those voters this year.

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"They are working to distinguish themselves from the national party, while trying to not alienate more progressive portions of the base. This is a difficult task," he said. "I think the bigger issue is that if Democrats aren't successful in this environment, it is hard to see how they can be successful in future elections in the state."

Trump made inroads with white, working-class voters who were previously more divided between Democrats and Republicans. His gains came from rural counties as well as the northeastern region near Cleveland. Democrats have gained some ground in Cincinnati and Columbus suburbs, but not enough to offset Republican gains in rural areas.

Still, Ohio has been competitive in some recent elections.

Democratic former Senator Sherrod Brown won reelection in 2018, then lost in 2024 by fewer than 4 percentage points. He is running for Senate against GOP incumbent Jon Husted this year, and polls point to a competitive race.
When Did Ohio Last Elect a Democratic Governor?

Ohio last elected a Democratic governor in 2006, when Ted Strickland, then a member of the House, flipped the seat as part of a blue wave. In 2010, a stronger year for the GOP, Republican John Kasich defeated Strickland by about 2 points.

Since then, Ohio has elected moderate Republican governors like Kasich in his reelection and Mike DeWine, who is ineligible to seek a third term in office.

Who Is Vivek Ramaswamy?

Ramaswamy ran for president in 2024 but was unable to overtake Trump in the primary. He was still able to become a favorite among many conservatives and gained national political attention while focusing his criticism on "woke" corporate culture.

Upon his return to the White House, Trump selected the entrepreneur-turned-politician to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency, but Ramaswamy stepped away from the position in its early days before announcing his gubernatorial run.

Trump has endorsed Ramaswamy's campaign for governor.

Ramaswamy easily won the Republican primary with more than 80 percent of the vote.

Who Is Amy Acton?

Acton served under DeWine as director of the Ohio Department of Health from February 2019 through June 2020, working through the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. She has also worked for nonprofits like the Columbus Foundation.

She has garnered attention—and criticism from some more progressive Democrats—for breaking from her party on key issues. She has said she does not "support boys playing in girls sports" and has said she supports Issue 3, an amendment that would put the state's voter ID requirements into its constitution.

"This amendment has overwhelming support from Ohioans across the state," Acton said, according to WEWS in Cleveland. "As this doesn't change what is already law, as governor, I will support it."

Acton ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

What Happens Next

Ohio's gubernatorial race is expected to be one of the closest of the midterms. The two candidates are not expected to debate. Both the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball classify the race as a toss-up.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Dave Siminoff.

Trump’s Approval Rating On The Economy Hits All-Time Low

Sara Dorn, Forbes Staff
 Wed, September 30, 2026 


Topline

President Donald Trump's approval rating on the economy and Iran slid to record lows in a new poll released this week, while a second poll found his approval rating during his second term dipped back to its record-low point of 42%.

President Donald Trump arrives at the White House in Washington, DC, in the early hours of September 23, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)
Timeline

Sept. 29Trump had a 34% approval rating and 61% disapproval rating in the latest Quinnipiac poll of 1,032 registered voters surveyed Sept. 24-27 (margin of error 3.8).

His 31% approval rating on the economy is an all-time low for both terms, and his 28% approval rating on his handling of the situation in Iran ties his all-time low reached in a July 29 Quinnipiac poll.

Sept. 29Trump's 42% approval rating in a Harvard CAPS/Harris poll matches his second-term low reached in April and July this year and is a two-point decline from the groups' last poll in August (the latest survey of 2,200 registered voters was conducted Sept. 26-28 and has a margin of error of 2.1).

Sept. 24Trump's 39% approval rating is a one-point decline from last month, and his disapproval rating has increased two points, to 58%, in the latest Emerson College poll of 1,000 likely voters taken Sept. 21-22 (margin of error 3).

Trump's approval rating initially hit a low of 39% in Emerson polling in May, then climbed to 40% in August.

The poll also found 53% of respondents said they would vote for the Democratic congressional candidate in their district in midterms, while 42% said they would vote for the Republican.

Sept. 23Trump's 33% approval rating is a new low point for either of his terms, according to CNN/SSRS polling, and is three points below what it was at this point during his first term in 2018, while 67% disapprove of his job performance, compared to 58% in September 2018 (the latest poll of 1,206 U.S. adults was taken Sept. 16-17 and has a margin of error 3.8).

Trump's approval rating on the economy is 22 points below what it was in September 2018, and Americans' view of the economy generally is 41 points worse.

Sept. 23Trump had a 39% approval rating and 53% disapproval rating in the latest PBS/NPR/Marist poll, an improvement from his 38%/59% rating in June (the poll of 1,280 registered voters was taken Sept. 14-15 and has a margin of error of 3.8).

The poll found Democrats have a 12-point advantage in the race for Congress, with 53% saying they would vote for the Democratic House candidate in their district, compared to 41% who said they would vote for the Republican.

Sept. 21Trump's approval rating reached a new low point, 32%, across both of his terms in another poll, from Reuters/Ipsos, that found approval of his job performance among Republicans has declined from 86% in January to 73% (the survey of 1,277 adults was conducted Sept. 17-20 and has a margin of error of 2.8).

Sept. 6Trump's 33% approval rating in a Financial Times/Focaldata poll is his lowest since the groups began asking the question in May and is down three points from last month (the survey of 1,914 registered voters was conducted Aug. 28-Sept. 1 and has a margin of error of 2.6).

The poll found his support among Republican voters has dipped two points, to 72%, a low point.

Negative views of Trump's handling of the economy appear to be continuing to drive down his poll numbers—-with 57% of voters saying they are financially worse off under Trump, compared to 53% last month.

Meanwhile, a plurality of voters, 46%, said Trump is making it harder for Republicans to win in November, and a plurality, 43%, also said his endorsement of a candidate would make them less likely to vote for that candidate.

Sept. 6Trump's 36% approval rating in the latest NBC News survey is one point below what it was in April, a record low in the groups' polling during Trump's second term.

The poll also found a significant decline in his support among his base—41% of Republicans strongly approve of Trump's job performance, down from 52% in the spring, and 62% of self-identified MAGA Republicans support him, down from 71% in the spring (the online survey of 7,105 adults was taken Aug. 20-Sept. 1 and has a margin of error of 3.3).

The share of Republicans who say they strongly approve of Trump's handling of the Iran war has also dropped 18 points, to 30%, and has declined 21 points among MAGA Republicans, to 43%.

Sept. 2Trump's approval rating increased from 42% in July to 44% in a Harvard CAPS/Harris survey released Wednesday, while 52% of respondents disapprove of his job performance (the poll of 2,100 registered voters was taken Aug. 28-30 and has a margin of error of 2.1).

Mood has improved slightly since July—37% said the country is on the right track, compared to 35% in July, and 52% said it's on the wrong track, down from 55% in July, while the share of voters who said the economy is strong is up two percentage points and the share who said it's weak is down two points.

Still, a plurality of voters, 47%, said their financial situation is getting worse, a one percentage point increase from July, 32% said it's getting better (down two points from July) and 21% said it's the same.

The poll found Democrats have a slight advantage in the midterms, with 51% saying they'd likely vote for a Democrat if their congressional election were held today, compared to 49% who'd prefer a Republican, while 54% of independents said they plan to vote for Democrats, compared to 46% who leaned Republican.

Sept. 2Trump's 33% approval rating—his lowest ever in Reuters/Ipsos polling—is unchanged from the past two weeks in the groups' weekly survey of 1,167 U.S. adults taken Aug. 28-31 (margin of error of 2.9).

The poll reaffirmed the cost of living as the most important issue in the upcoming midterms, with a plurality (47%) saying it's their top concern, while Trump continues to log poor ratings on his handling of the economy—71% disapproval/22% approval.

Aug. 31Trump's approval rating has decreased one point, to 32%, since March, and his disapproval rating has increased two points, to 64%, according to a University of Massachusetts Amherst poll of 1,000 respondents taken Aug. 21-26 (margin of error 3.5).

Trump's approval rating among Republicans has declined from 89% to 75% since April 2025, and his approval rating among 2024 Trump voters is down 10 points.


Just 25% of respondents said he is handling the war in Iran well, while 68% said he's not handling it well.

Aug. 24Trump's approval rating held at 33% in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, unchanged from the groups' survey released Aug. 17, while his disapproval rating increased one point, to 65% (the survey of 1,215 adults was conducted Aug. 21-24 and has a margin of error of 3).

Just 31% support U.S. military action in Iran, down from 34% earlier this month and 37% in March.

The share of Americans who believe the Iran war will go on "for an extended period of time" increased to 83% from 80% earlier this month.



Aug. 17Trump's approval rating dipped to 33%, and his disapproval rating went up one point from earlier in August, to 64%, in the latest Reuters/Ipsos survey of 1,166 U.S. adults taken Aug. 14-17 (margin of error 3).

The poll found 80% of Americans, including 87% of Democrats and 71% of Republicans, think U.S. involvement in Iran "will go on for an extended period of time," while just 16% said it would likely end in a few weeks.

The survey also found that for the first time in about a decade, more voters, 38%, prefer Democrats to handle the economy versus Republicans (35%).

Aug. 16Trump had a 35% approval rating and 55% disapproval rating in a Financial Times/Focaldata poll of 1,913 registered voters conducted Aug. 7-10 (margin of error 2.9).



Trump's net approval rating among Republicans has dropped eight points since the groups' July survey, the Financial Times reported.

The poll comes as inflation cooled in July from June, but at 3.4%, it's still higher than when Trump took office as the war with Iran has driven up fuel costs and disrupted the economy.

Meanwhile, Democrats have a five percentage-point advantage over Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections, according to the survey.
Surprising Fact

Trump's approval rating is similar to former President Joe Biden's at this point in his term. Biden had a 42% approval rating in August 2022, according to Gallup.
Big Number

40%. That was Trump's approval rating the week of Sept. 17-23, 2018, during his first term, according to Gallup.

Key Background

Trump began his second term with a 52% approval rating and 43% disapproval rating, according to The New York Times' polling average. He experienced a sharp drop in support with the announcement of his so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs in April last year, and again since the start of the Iran war at the end of February. Voters' economic concerns have remained high throughout Trump's second term, and the Iran war has coincided with an increase in negative views of the economy as gas prices have skyrocketed since the start of the conflict. Trump's sagging approval rating comes as Democrats are favored to regain control of the House, according to Cook Political Report, and pick up some seats in the Republican-dominated Senate.

INVOKING MARS & AIRES

Pete Hegseth Leads Hundreds Around Pentagon in ‘THIS IS WAR’ Shirts & Gets Mocked

Devanshi Basu
Wed, September 30, 2026 


Photo Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Key takeaways

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth led a group of service members in a jogging loop around the Pentagon wearing shirts that read “THIS IS WAR,” sparking criticism from many who viewed it as performative

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laced up his running shoes this week and led hundreds of service members on an early-morning jogging loop around the Pentagon, all of them wearing identical shirts that read "THIS IS WAR." The Defense Department shared video of the run, and people responded with a wave of criticism aimed at what many called a performative display.

Critics mocked videos showing Pete Hegseth leading an early-morning military run

The department posted two videos showing Pete Hegseth jogging at the front of the pack outside the Pentagon. A third clip featured the secretary, at times audibly short of breath, addressing the troops who joined him. He invoked a motto he first introduced at Quantico.

 "Last year, when we gave a speech at Quantico—we launched the War Department golden rule: Do unto your formation that which you would have done unto your son or daughter's formation," Hegseth said, summing it up as "no games, no gimmicks, no low standards, and no excuses."

After the jogging session, Hegseth boarded a helicopter for the 33-mile trip from the Pentagon to Quantico, where he gave his annual "State of the Force" speech. However, critics seized on the "THIS IS WAR" apparel, pointing out that the Trump administration has repeatedly framed its conflict with Iran as something other than a war. As one X user wrote, "Thought we were trying to stay out of wars?" Another added, "If that's War, you're probably losing it."

The run fits a broader habit. Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News weekend host, has repeatedly posted fitness videos since taking over the military's top civilian post, including clips of spin bike sessions, bench pressing, and pull-ups in a tree with Dr. Oz. He and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also drew ridicule for a joint push-up and pull-up video they branded "The Pete and Bobby Challenge."

7 takeaways from Hegseth’s address to officers: Warfare’s future, faith and a new base

CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM AND KILLER ROBOTS 

WHAT COULD GO WRONG?!

Filip Timotija
Wed, September 30, 2026

THE /HILL

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made a flurry of announcements during a wide-ranging speech to active-duty officers Wednesday.

At the beginning of the address, the Pentagon chief stuck to his bread and butter: culture-war grievances, stripping the "woke" out of the Department of Defense (DOD), bashing the news media for its coverage of the Iran war, and proclaiming the "warrior ethos" has been revived and the U.S. military has been "rebuilt."

But the Defense secretary made several newsy announcements that lean into Hegseth's elevation of faith, create a combatant command, partner the Pentagon with different universities and tease a new domestic military base for which governors will compete.

Here are the takeaways from Hegseth's 52-minute speech at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia:

New combatant command focused on autonomous warfare

Hegseth announced the formation of a new four-star combatant command focused on developing autonomous warfare like drones and defense robotics.

The Defense secretary said it would have "service-like authorities built to scale autonomous and robotic capabilities across the joint force in the fastest peacetime shift in modern military history," with the aim of being operational by Oct. 1 next year.

The Autonomous Warfare Command, or "AutoWarCom," will be initially led by Owen West, a former Marine who is now the director of the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit, and Max Strasiser, a Navy SEAL senior chief. Later, a four-star military leader will be announced.

"This command will possess directed manpower, budget, acquisition authorities and create dedicated military career pathways for Officers and Enlisted personnel," Hegseth said in a Wednesday memo.

The new command will test equipment and force designs with "realistic opposition" in exercises and rugged environments to figure out what works on the battlefield, the Defense secretary said in the memo.

Project Meridian and warfare's future

Hegseth revealed that SpaceXAI CEO Elon Musk, Anduril co-founder Palmer Luckey and former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) will lead a new Pentagon effort to study the future of warfare, dubbed Project Meridian.

The Pentagon chief said the project is meant to harness America's innovators, senior leaders and technologists to look decades into the future and "forecast the creative solution for tomorrow's conflicts."

"It is futuristic on purpose," he said of the project, which he clarified was not meant to develop new strategies or policies.

"We should have the humility to recognize that the best forecasters of future conflict do not solely reside inside the Pentagon," Hegseth said. "There are obvious biases and risks to asking ourselves to both ask the questions and answer them."

Hegseth said Musk, Luckey and Gingrich, under the leadership of Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael, "will be focused on discovering, developing, and fielding the weapons and systems that our children and our grandchildren will need in their lifetimes, without any creative limitations or restrictions, on any future battlefield, from under the Earth to beyond the moon."

All three men were in attendance at the Pentagon as Hegseth made his announcement, and the Pentagon chief said their first meeting on Project Meridian would happen immediately following the event in a sensitive compartmented information facility in the building.

States invited to bid for 'next great American' base

Hegseth invited governors to bid for their state to be the home of the "next great American" base.

"We're calling on every governor in the country and adjutant general, every tag across this great republic, to step up to the plate and bring us their best sales pitch," the Defense secretary said.

"If your state wants the honor of hosting 15,000 to 25,000 of America's great troops, show us why and how you're going to do it, cutting through the red tape, offering up the land and rolling out the red carpet for our military families," he said during the speech.

Naval Station Everett in Washington state was the most recent base built inside the U.S., opening in the 1990s. The base is home to several guided-missile destroyers and Coast Guard ships.

Hegseth said the new base will not be a "soulless government installation," arguing the Pentagon will "plan out and chart out a dynamic, self-sustaining power projection platform."

The Pentagon said the base will be off the commercial grid, featuring independent power generation, autonomous systems and advanced air defenses.

"We're talking hundreds of thousands of acres with organic power generation, modern air defenses, and cutting-edge technology, think a fortress," the secretary said. Service members will have "first-class barracks, world-class training facilities, and thriving communities with top-tier housing, school, childcare and healthcare for families."

Hegseth directed Dale R. Marks, who is assistant secretary of Defense for energy, installations and environment, to lead the Pentagon's effort to identify, evaluate, select and prepare an optimal site for the base.

"Rapid advancements in disruptive technologies, growing strategic alignment among peer adversaries, and persistent, sophisticated cyber intrusions against critical defense and homeland infrastructure necessitate a modernized, resilient posture," the Defense secretary said in a Wednesday memo.

'Fortress America' takes bases off civilian grid

Another new initiative revealed Wednesday is "Fortress America," which Hegseth claimed will be "a national insurance policy for the American homeland.

Under Fortress, which stands for "Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy Supply and Survivability," every major military installation in America would generate its own power independent of the civilian grid, according to Hegseth.

"If an adversary takes down the grid by cyberattack, by sabotage, or by any means, our bases stay lit. Our aircraft keep flying. Our command centers never go dark," he said.

The effort also is meant to bring critical supply chains home, including rare earth minerals, specialty metals, semiconductors and propellants "mined in America, refined in America, built in America by American workers."

In addition, the Pentagon would build up strategic reserves of such critical needs as munitions, fuel, medicine and blood "deep enough that if the world's supply lines break — and in a real war, they're going to break — America keeps fighting anyway," Hegseth said.

To accomplish this, Hegseth said the U.S. military is "hardening every installation on American soil against cyber intrusion, sabotage and drones, and we're securing the high ground and the airwaves, our satellites, our spectrum," claiming that the DOD "will be the insurance policy for the entire nation."

New non-Ivy League partnerships for cadets

The Defense secretary also said the Pentagon will partner with five more colleges to broaden the corps of cadets.

The military training program, called "America's Corps of Cadets," will include Louisiana State University, Liberty University, Tuskegee University, Mississippi State University and Hillsdale College.

"We need more officers from academic institutions like our military academies and senior military colleges, and today we're going to make that happen," Hegseth said.

Each school will be a "distinguished military college" and will be expected to "maintain exceptionally high standards of cadet discipline, tactical instruction and military organization," the Pentagon chief said.

Military academies like West Point, Naval Academy and Air Force Academy commission most of the officers into the U.S. armed forces, followed by senior military colleges like Texas A&M and the Citadel.

Hegseth's office will begin implementation within 30 days, and within four months, Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata will transition to become the primary office responsible for the program, according to a Wednesday Pentagon memo.

"From the Ivy Leagues to the most liberal arts colleges, our colleges and universities have become anti-American DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] worshipping woke factories. Qualities like grit and courage replaced with political correctness and social justice," Hegseth said. "God and country traded for Che Guevara and critical theory."

Creates Office of Religious Affairs

In his last proclamation, Hegseth declared he will establish the Office of Religious Affairs at the Pentagon that "will report straight to the top."

"Cutting-edge technology ... new basing and bases ... and a better educational pipeline are still incomplete without the most essential component of our republic: faith," he told the assembled service members.

He said the Defense Department has "a sacred duty" to provide troops with "first-class religious support" wherever they're sent, bashing past administrations for treating the topic as an afterthought.

"Political correctness and secular humanism got a vote. Chaplains did not. Budgets were cut. Resourcing and manpower needs were ignored. Base chapels fell apart," Hegseth claimed. "Decisions about faith and religion were made by secular careerists in cubicles and lawyers running around with red tape."

Starting Wednesday, the Office of Religious Affairs will have "a direct line to the secretary" and will "protect budgets, demand infrastructure, and strengthen religious support," he said.

Hegseth frequently invokes his faith and has declared service members' spiritual health as "equally important" as their physical and mental health.

Earlier this year he revamped the U.S. military's Chaplain Corps, announcing that the officers will no longer wear their rank insignia, instead displaying insignia that reflects their religious affiliation — part of two major changes to the group.

Hegseth defends officer cuts

At the start of his speech, Hegseth defended his plan to cut 20 percent of generals and admirals at the Pentagon, arguing the major shake-up was long overdue at the department.

"Now the media calls that a purge. I call it accountability and long overdue, and frankly, the bare minimum. As usual, what the media levels as an accusation, I wear as an accomplishment," Hegseth said.

"You see, you can't change a culture with the same people who enabled it," he said. "Personnel is policy at every single level."

The move will impact senior leadership positions across the Army, Navy and the Air Force, coming a year after Hegseth oversaw a 10 percent reduction of general officers.

The move comes as he has already fired or pushed out more than two dozen senior military officers across the service branches, personnel changes that have unnerved congressional lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

"You see, last year's speech was not for those generals," Hegseth said during the speech. "It was for you, the backbone of our force, the current and future leaders on the front lines."

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