The Week Magazine October 10, 2025

So now we know why Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of the military’s top brass to a meeting in Quantico this week. It wasn’t to purge the ranks, demand a loyalty pledge, or announce the invasion of Venezuela. No, the former Fox News host turned defense secretary wanted to lecture these decorated war fighters about what makes a real warrior (see Main Stories, p.5). Being clean shaven is essential. “No more beardos,” Hegseth said, announcing a ban on facial hair. American warriors must also have ripped bods like his own—“fat troops are tiring to look at”—and minds free of “woke garbage.” These perfect warriors will most likely be men, because, he explained, women in combat roles will soon be required to meet a higher male fitness standard. “If that means no…

What happened The federal government shut down this week after Democrats and Republicans failed to strike a spending deal, leaving some 750,000 federal workers furloughed and many in fear that their jobs could be terminated by the Trump administration. The shutdown arrived after days of acrimony and little productive negotiation. Senate Republicans, who need at least seven Democratic votes to overcome a filibuster, insisted Democrats pass a House-approved bill to extend funding through Nov. 21. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said any spending bill must extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced subsidies, due to expire in December, and roll back $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts enacted in Trump’s tax and spending law—proposals Republicans called a nonstarter. Trump falsely claimed Democrats want to fund health…

■ In August, bystanders captured videos of a cow escaping an Arizona slaughterhouse and hoofing it for several miles until police corralled and returned the animal. That brief adventure might have been the end of the getaway story, but after seeing footage of the cow’s escape, Aimee Takaha, the owner of an animal sanctuary in San Tan Valley, spoke to the cow’s owner and within 24 hours raised $2,500 to rescue it. “She had that fight for freedom,” said Takaha. “I thought she’s so remarkable.” ■ On an overcast morning in September, 300 swimmers leaped into the Chicago River for a mile-long open water swim. Chicago’s police department serenaded the swimmers with bagpipes to mark the Windy City’s first organized swim in 98 years. Sewage and pollution had plagued the…

What happened President Trump told an unprecedented gathering of military top brass this week that America was “under invasion from within” and that soldiers should use “dangerous cities” like Chicago and Portland as “training grounds.” The more than 800 generals, admirals, and other officers were summoned from posts around the globe to assemble at Marine headquarters in Quantico, Va., solely to listen to remarks by Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In his rambling, 75-minute speech, Trump aired grievances about his predecessors and the Nobel Prize committee and said he would “straighten out” cities that are “run by the radical left Democrats,” with help from the military. “That’s a war, too,” he said. “It’s the enemy from within.” Noting that officers swear an oath to defend against “all enemies, foreign…

What happened More U.S. cities were bracing this week for the arrival of federal forces after President Trump ordered the deployment of National Guard troops to what he called “war ravaged” Portland, Ore., and Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry called on the Guard to tackle crime in his state. Portland and Oregon sued to block the Pentagon’s federalization of 200 Oregon National Guard members. Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered outside a Portland ICE facility, joining a long-running protest that had for months involved no more than several dozen demonstrators yet prompted Trump to call in the Guard and authorize “full force, if necessary.” Trump said he told Oregon’s Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek that Portland—which he’s long viewed as an antifa hotbed—looked “like World War II. Your place is burning down.” Kotek…

With the prosecution of James Comey, “our country has entered a grave new period of injustice,” said The New York Times in an editorial. Lindsey Halligan, a former personal lawyer for President Trump newly elevated to U.S. attorney in Virginia, obtained a grand jury indictment against the former FBI director last week on “highly dubious” charges that he made false statements and obstructed Congress during a 2020 Senate hearing. The indictment nearly didn’t happen. Scrambling to beat the statute of limitations, with no career prosecutors willing to assist, Halligan herself presented the case to the grand jury, which rejected a perjury charge and only narrowly approved the remaining counts. But happen it did, and Trump’s years of threats to prosecute his political enemies—Comey in particular, whom Trump blames for what…