The Pentagon has promoted Kingsley Wilson to press secretary despite her history of antisemitic comments, Jewish Insider reports.

Wilson has also called Confederate General Robert E. Lee “one of the greatest Americans to ever live.”

“The White House has lost confidence in a Pentagon leak investigation that Pete Hegseth used to justify firing three top aides last month, after advisers were told that the aides had supposedly been outed by an illegal warrantless National Security Agency wiretap,” The Guardian reports.

“The extraordinary explanation alarmed the advisers, who also raised it with people close to JD Vance, because such a wiretap would almost certainly be unconstitutional and an even bigger scandal than a number of leaks.”

“But the advisers found the claim to be untrue and complained that they were being fed dubious information by Hegseth’s personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, who had been tasked with overseeing the investigation.”

“An enduring rift among Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s cadre of senior advisers has divided the Pentagon’s front office and fueled internal speculation about his long-term viability in the Cabinet post after several episodes that attracted White House scrutiny,” the Washington Post reports.

“The conflict within Hegseth’s inner circle persists even after he purged several political appointees in April and attempts to portray a sense of unity among his remaining brain trust. His claims, however, are belied by continued behind-the-scenes dysfunction, brought on by unresolved personality conflicts, inexperience, vacancies in key leadership roles and a steady-state paranoia over what political crisis could emerge next.”

“President Donald Trump left out a key detail this week when he outlined his plans for a massive missile and air defense shield over the continent: He can’t build it without Canada,” Politico reports.

“And it’s not clear America’s northern neighbor wants in.”

“Canada would need to play a pivotal role in Trump’s signature, potentially $500 billion effort to build the so-called Golden Dome, according to U.S. officials and experts, with Ottawa providing radars and airspace needed to track incoming missiles in the Arctic.”

“President Donald Trump will announce $25 billion for his ‘Golden Dome’ defense project Tuesday afternoon, a fraction of the amount it would eventually cost to build the ambitious national missile system he’s demanded,” Politico reports.

“The Pentagon has submitted small, medium and large options to the White House for developing “Golden Dome,” President Donald Trump’s vision for a cutting-edge missile shield that can protect the US from long-range strikes that will likely cost hundreds of billions of dollars,“ CNN reports.

“Trump is expected to announce his preferred option – and its price point – in the coming days, a decision that will ultimately chart a path forward for funding, developing and implementing the space-based missile defense system over the next several years.”

“Whatever option Trump opts for, it won’t be cheap; $25 billion has been carved out in next year’s defense budget for the system, but the Congressional Budget Office has estimated the US could have to spend more than $500 billion – over the course of 20 years – to develop a viable Golden Dome.”

“The project will also present a bonanza for private contractors as the government won’t be able to build it alone, with companies including Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the running for highly lucrative contracts related to the system.”

“Military commanders will be told to identify troops in their units who are transgender or have gender dysphoria, then send them to get medical checks in order to force them out of the service,” the AP reports.

“Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, is moving the assembly of the president’s daily intelligence brief from the CIA headquarters to her own complex,” the New York Times reports.

“The brief, a summary of intelligence and analysis about global hot spots and national security threats, is overseen and presented to the president by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. But CIA officers write much of the analysis in the document and produce it, pulling together articles and graphics on the agency’s classified computer systems.”

“It’s going to cost nearly $1 trillion to operate, maintain and upgrade America’s nuclear arsenal over the next decade — more per year ($95 billion) than what’s spent on many federal agencies,” Axios reports.

“That eye-popping estimate from the Congressional Budget Office is catnip for critics, who argue Washington is spending blindly or that portions of the triad are vestigial.”

“Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in his new add-on role of national security adviser, is expected to significantly scale down the size of the National Security Council and make a drastic change to how it works,” NBC News reports.

“Shrinking the staff at the NSC would be in part designed to more closely align how it operates with the way President Donald Trump makes decisions, these people said. Rather than a large staff generating policy recommendations for the president, the idea is to create a version along the lines Trump prefers — more top-down, with the president directing the national security adviser who then leads the staff to carry out those orders.”

“Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has fired the top two career officials leading the National Intelligence Council, the senior most analytical group in the intelligence community whose job it is to understand and assess the biggest threats facing the United States,” CNN reports.

“The dismissals come as Gabbard has vowed to root out what she has described as politicization of the intelligence community, and launched a war on leaks to the media that critics say is hollowing out the intelligence community of needed expertise from experienced professionals.”

Washington Post: Gabbard fires leaders of intelligence group that wrote Venezuela assessment.

“Exasperated by the turmoil that has dogged Pete Hegseth’s office in recent weeks, the White House will block the US defense secretary’s choice of chief of staff and select a candidate of its own,” The Guardian reports.

“Hegseth had suggested giving the chief of staff position to Marine Col Ricky Buria after the first person in the role, Joe Kasper, left last month in the wake of a contentious leak investigation that brought the ouster of three other senior aides.”

“But the White House has made clear to Hegseth that Buria will not be elevated to become his most senior aide at the Pentagon, casting Buria as a liability on account of his limited experience as a junior military assistant and his recurring role in internal office drama.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has issued internal instructions to the Pentagon to start kicking out transgender troops who do not elect to leave on their own by June 6, Reuters reports.

New York Times: The Pentagon’s culture wars strike West Point.

“Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered senior Pentagon leadership to cut the number of four-star generals and admirals by at least 20% across the military,” CNN reports.

Asked last night about whether Stephen Miller could become national security adviser, President Trump told reporters it was very possible.

Said Trump: “Stephen Miller is at the top of the totem pole. I mean, I think he sort of indirectly already has that job. He has a lot to say about a lot of things.”