'No fatties, no trannies, no beardos': Hegseth vows to purge US army of transgender troops and overweight soldiers

From the Newshound archive · first published 29 September 2026 · last updated 2 October 2026.

Elon Musk will co-lead Project Meridian alongside Palmer Luckey and Newt Gingrich, advising the Pentagon on future warfare domains and military technologies.

Elon Musk, who will also oversee a new autonomous weapons command dubbed 'Autowarcom' under Pete Hegseth's Pentagon overhaul.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has told Marine Corps members in Quantico, Virginia that he is replacing a "woke" military culture with a "warrior ethos," declaring the ideological clowns are out and "patriotic cowboys are in." He claimed 20% of top military leaders have already been fired and boasted that testosterone testing is now being introduced across the armed forces. The remarks drew immediate international criticism, with the speech being called "unhinged" by commentators.

Hegseth told troops there would be "no drag queen shows," no gender pronouns, and that Christian chaplains would help build killing drones for greater "lethality."

He declared: 'The ideological clowns are out. The patriotic cowboys are in, with testosterone testing on top. Diversity is not our strength.'

Hegseth also claimed the entire free press is "committing treason" — a remark that reportedly drew particular outrage from critics watching the speech.

The TimesPete Hegseth: I’ll purge army of fatties, beardos and weirdos MetroPete Hegseth says he'll rid the U.S. Army of 'fatties' and transgender people LBCSimon Marks reacts to Pete Hegseth's 'unhinged' speech The IndependentPete Hegseth’s War Daddy-sermon about killing and Jesus was truly eye-opening

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