Not Iran, Trump's USA is seeing a regime change

Regime change, the forcible overthrow of a foreign government, was repeatedly floated as one of the goals of the Trump administration’s war against Iran. Now, that regime change is finally arriving, but not in Tehran. Heads are rolling in Washington DC. The Trump administration has sacked three top officials since the war in Iran began.

Since the conflict began on February 28, more and more of President Donald Trump's closest aides and Cabinet members have been shown the door or are expected to bite the dust soon. The White House is in the midst of a sweeping purge, unfolding against the backdrop of the Iran war and the looming November 2026 midterms, where Democrats are expected to mount a fierce battle for control of Congress.

But it's not just civilian heads that are rolling. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is targeting top officers of the US Armed Forces, which seems to have gained new momentum after the commencement of hostilities with Iran. It is the same Hegseth on whom Trump tried to shift the blame for the Iran war.

Trump is no stranger to cutting loose loyalists. In his first term, he famously fired chief strategist Steve Bannon and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, among others. His second term began with what The Atlantic called a "no-scalps" policy, an apparent vow to protect his loyal acolytes from the revolving-door chaos of the past.

So why the sudden reversal? Who has already been fired, who's next in the firing line, and is a full-scale regime change underway in DC?

WHY DID TRUMP SACK KRISTI NOEM AND PAM BONDI?

According to The Atlantic, President Trump began his second term reluctant to fire close aides and cabinet members, viewing it as a concession to Democrats and the media.

That stance has now shifted. From the immigration issue to the Epstein Files to the war against Iran, the reasons are multifold.

Since the Iran war began, Trump's approval rating has plunged. The Economist reported this week that his net approval has fallen to negative 20–23 points among all Americans.

The first major casualty was Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, nicknamed "Ice Barbie" for her hardline immigration policies. Noem aggressively deployed armed ICE agents into major cities and became the face of the administration’s deportation drive.

Her downfall came from multiple controversies, like the fatal shootings of US citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by ICE agents (whom Noem publicly labelled domestic terrorists), criticism over her department’s handling of the July 2025 Texas floods and Hurricane Helene, and reports of a $220 million advertising contract awarded to her close associates without Trump’s approval.

The once-celebrated "MAGA warrior" was fired on March 5, 2026. She is expected to be reassigned as a special envoy for the Shield of the Americas.

The next Trump acolyte to bite the dust turned out to be the president's loyal attorney general, Pam Bondi. "Pambi", as Bondi was nicknamed, had been one of the administration's most ardent defenders, and aggressively reshaped the Justice Department to target the administration's perceived enemies.

However, according to a report by The Economist, Bondi's failures to prosecute Trump's longtime antagonists, like former FBI director James Comey and New York attorney general Letitia James (both attempts were thrown out of US courts), and her bungling of the fallout of the release of the Epstein Files (turns out, the Dow Jones hitting 50k is not a good enough distraction) led to mounting frustration in the White House.

In the end, Pam Bondi was fired by Trump on April 2, Thursday, making her the second Cabinet member ousted in just one month. And as we will soon see, they might not be the last.

WHY PETE HEGSETH REMOVED TOP OFFICERS OF US ARMED FORCES?

Even as the White House prepares to expand its purge of its top ranks, a separate purge, put in motion beforehand, has found a new lease of life following the outbreak of the Iran war.

Since his appointment as Secretary of Defence (later rebranded as Secretary of War), Pete Hegseth, nicknamed “Dumb McNamara” by some Pentagon staffers, has aggressively sought to reshape the US Armed Forces. His mission, purge what he calls "woke" and DEI elements in favour of a harder "warrior ethos".

According to The Atlantic, Hegseth’s crusade has already claimed several top officers, including Joint Chiefs Chairperson General CQ Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff General James Slife, and Defence Intelligence Agency head General Jeffrey Kruse. He also blocked promotions for multiple Black, female, and other minority officers.

The purge continues even as American forces fight the Iran war, with the US far from achieving its stated objectives. On Friday, April 3, 2026, Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff General Randy George, his chief of staff General David Hodne, and Major General William Green Jr, the Army’s top chaplain.

Pentagon sources told CBS News the moves were intended to install leaders who would fully implement Trump and Hegseth’s vision for the Army.

The Atlantic reported, however, that many of the ousted officers were closely tied to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll —the target of a personal vendetta by Hegseth, fuelled by rumours that Driscoll was positioned to replace him after the Signalgate scandal (in which The Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg was inadvertently added to a top-secret Signal group chat).

The timing, however, coincides with mounting evidence that US objectives are slipping: Iranian missile production has been degraded but not eliminated, the Iranian navy lies in ruins, yet Tehran’s proxies continue harassing shipping, and the Strait of Hormuz remains choked.

WHO'S NEXT ON TRUMP'S FIRING LINE?

The ousters of Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi might mark just the beginning of a wider bloodbath in Washington DC.

Reports from The Atlantic, Politico, and The Guardian suggest several more Trump loyalists could soon be shown the door. "He's very angry, and he’s going to be moving people," one unnamed administration official told Politico.

Those said to be in the crosshairs include FBI Director Kash Patel (whose personal accounts were recently hacked by an Iran-linked group), Labour Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, and Director of Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

Even closer to home, two senior figures have drawn Trump’s direct ire. On March 31, 2026, the President turned to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt (who was once described by Trump as having lips like a machine gun) during a briefing and bluntly told her, "You're doing a terrible job," while joking about whether they should "keep her". He later added that he probably would for now.

Trump was also reported by The Wall Street Journal as jokingly blaming Vice President JD Vance for slow progress on a deal with Tehran to end the war with Iran, warning, "If it doesn't happen, I'm blaming JD Vance."

With midterm elections approaching and the Iran war dragging on, the purge shows no signs of slowing. Regime change, it seems, has finally arrived, but in Trump's Washington DC, and not Iran.

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