Former top Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot is resigning from the Defense Department (DOD) at the end of this week, marking another shake-up at the department, where three top aides have been suspended as part of an internal probe.
Ullyot was the acting assistant to the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for public affairs until February, when Sean Parnell, a former U.S. Army airborne ranger and ex-Senate candidate, was selected as the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson.
“I made clear to Secretary [Pete] Hegseth before the Inauguration that I was not interested in being number two to anyone in public affairs, but I would be happy to stand up the Pentagon press operation on an acting basis for two months and get President Trump’s pick up to speed once he came on board,” Ullyot wrote in a statement to The Hill on Thursday.
“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 said. “It’s been an honor to serve alongside him as part of President Trump’s team, and I remain one of the Secretary’s strongest supporters going forward.”
A senior defense official told The Associated Press that Hegseth’s office had asked Ullyot to resign from the post.
The Hill has reached out to DOD for comment.
Ullyot’s departure comes as three top DOD officials — two of Hegseth’s aides and the chief of staff to deputy secretary of Defense Steve A. Feinberg — were escorted out of the Pentagon earlier this week and placed on administrative leave as part of an investigation into the leaks at the department.
Ullyot was defending the DOD as the department removed scores of military web pages related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. A DOD page dedicated to baseball legend Jackie Robinson was briefly taken down, prompting strong backlash in March. Robinson broke the color barrier in the sport in 1947.
Shortly after the article celebrating Robinson was removed, Ullyot was sidelined by the Trump administration, The Washington Post reported in March.
Ullyot worked in a senior spokesperson role during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. During Trump’s first White House term, he served as the secretary of public affairs at the Department of Veterans and was a spokesperson at the National Security Council.
Ullyot’s departure was first reported by Politico.