In one broad stroke Friday evening, President Trump axed six senior Pentagon officials in a move never before seen in U.S. history.

The Trump administration, pushing back against Democrats, journalists and former military officials who have called the purge “unprecedented,” defended the decision by citing past examples of presidents sacking top military brass.

But experts say there is no record of so many top military leaders being ousted all at once.

“Two things are unprecedented. One is the scope, and the other is the lack of public explanation,” said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel who is now a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

“These things have happened in ones, singular events. Never across-the-board like this, and with so little explanation about why.”

Trump last week ordered the firings of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr., Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Air Force Vice Chief Gen. James Slife, and the judge advocates generals for the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Not included in Friday’s announcement was a seventh dismissal, that of Air Force Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's senior military assistant, NBC News first reported. The Pentagon has not acknowledged her removal.

Trump, who had already fired Coast Guard Adm. Linda Fagan, the first woman to lead a........

© The Hill