John Ullyot, Pentagon official on the heart of Jackie Robinson scandal, resigns | EUROtoday

John Ullyot, the Pentagon’s high spokesman for the primary two months of President Donald Trump’s administration who was embroiled within the Jackie Robinson scandal, introduced his resignation from the Department of Defense (DOD).

“I made clear to Secretary [Pete] Hegseth before the inauguration that I was not interested in being number two to anyone in public affairs,” Ullyot advised Politico in an announcement on Wednesday.

“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.

“So I informed him today that I will be leaving at the end of this week.”

Ullyot, 56, mentioned that he had initially consented to tackle the position of press secretary on an appearing foundation however had been sidelined after being changed by fight veteran and former congressional candidate Sean Parnell in February. After that, he was unable to agree on a brand new everlasting place.

After stepping apart and transferring right into a “special projects” position, Ullyot attracted unwelcome consideration in March by defending the Pentagon’s controversial determination to take away a webpage recounting the U.S. Army profession of the primary Black man to play in Major League Baseball Jackie Robinson.

Robinson, a Hall of Famer, broke baseball’s racial barrier when he made his debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

Asked about ESPN’s elimination of the tribute web page, Ullyot issued an announcement declaring, “DEI is dead at the Defense Department.”

The administration praised the “rapid compliance” with its request that it take away articles on Robinson, the Navajo Code Talkers, and Native American Marine Ira Hayes, who helped plant the Stars-and-Stripes on Iwo Jima in the course of the Second World War.

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Uproar over the feedback pressured him to rapidly problem an up to date launch studying: “Everyone at the Defense Department loves Jackie Robinson, as well as the Navajo Code Talkers, the Tuskegee airmen, the Marines at Iwo Jima and so many others – we salute them for their strong and in many cases heroic service to our country, full stop.

“We do not view or highlight them through the prism of immutable characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, or sex. We do so only by recognizing their patriotism and dedication to the warfighting mission, like every other American who has worn the uniform.”

Ullyot was additionally liable for the current revamping of the division’s press store, which noticed workspaces denied to well-established however “mainstream” publications and assigned to conservative retailers like Breitbart and One America News Network as a substitute.

A Marine Corps veteran himself, Ullyot performed a senior communications position in Trump’s 2016 presidential marketing campaign. He then served as head of communications on the National Security Council throughout his first administration and as assistant secretary of public affairs on the Department of Veterans Affairs.

His departure comes amid a disastrous week for the Pentagon, which has seen three employees members positioned on administrative depart amid an investigation into press leaks.

Hegseth and his crew are additionally nonetheless reeling from final month’s “Signalgate” furore, through which Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was unintentionally added to a gaggle chat through which high safety officers mentioned a bombing raid on Houthi rebels in Yemen.