Pentagon‘s former chief spokesperson, John Ullyot, has said he will resign this week from the Department of Defense (DOD). However, a senior official told news agency AP that US defense secretary Pete Hegseth’s office had asked Ullyot to resign.
One of the first to be hired for Hegseth’s communications office, Ullyot said he did not want to be the “number two to anyone in public affairs.”
“I made clear to secretary Hegseth before the inauguration (of US President Donald Trump) I was not interested in being number two to anyone in public affairs. I offered to help on an acting basis for two month,” the US Marine Corps veteran said in an exclusive interview to a website.
“Last month, as that time approached, the secretary and I talked and could not come to an agreement on another good fit for me at DOD (Department of Defense). So I informed him today I will be leaving at the end of this week,” he added.
In February, President Trump appointedSean Parnell, an Afghanistan War veteran, as Pentagon’s head spokesperson.
During the first Trump administration, Ullyot served as the spokesperson for the National Security Council. He was also an assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
He also served as a senior adviser to the Republican leader during the latter’s victorious presidential campaign in 2016.
At Pentagon, which houses the Department of Defense, Ullyot had issued a controversial broad edict to the military services to remove online images which were considered a promotion of diversity, equity or inclusion (DEI).
That directive led to public outcry when images of national heroes like Jackie Robinson and others were removed.
Ullyot’s departure coincides with, but is not tied to, suspension by the Pentagon of three senior officials – Dan Caldwell, Darin Selnik, Colin Carroll – amid a probe over leaks from the department.
