{"id":2469781,"date":"2025-08-01T16:06:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T20:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/johnson-presses-dod-on-rehiring-troops-fired-over-covid-jab\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T16:07:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T20:07:52","slug":"johnson-presses-dod-on-rehiring-troops-fired-over-covid-jab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/johnson-presses-dod-on-rehiring-troops-fired-over-covid-jab\/","title":{"rendered":"Johnson Presses DOD On Rehiring Troops Fired Over Covid Jab"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fjohnson-presses-dod-on-rehiring-troops-fired-over-covid-jab%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2469781&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) is urging the Pentagon to expedite efforts to reinstate military personnel who were discharged for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine mandated by the Biden management. In a recent letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Johnson requested an update on the Department of defense&#8217;s actions to re-enlist these service members, many of whom lost their positions due to an August 2021 vaccine mandate issued under then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Although congress later repealed the mandate, approximately 8,700 troops were dismissed. <\/p>\n<p>Following President Donald Trump&#8217;s executive order to reinstate discharged troops with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-calls-for-rehiring-troops-discharged-over-vaccine-mandate\/\" title=\"Trump Calls for Rehiring Troops ... over Vaccine ...\">full back pay<\/a> and benefits, Secretary Hegseth issued memos to fast-track this process and expressed a commitment to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >welcoming affected service members back<\/a> into the military. Johnson emphasized the injustice of the dismissals and referenced ongoing struggles faced by some veterans still seeking reinstatement despite Trump&#8217;s order. He requested a briefing on the Department of Defense&#8217;s progress by August 19, 2025, underscoring the importance of accountability and support for those wrongfully terminated for declining the COVID-19 vaccine.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Army_250_Birthday_Parade_(9112603).jpg\">Christopher Kaufmann\/U.S. Army\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/01\/ron-johnson-presses-pentagon-on-reinstatement-of-troops-fired-for-not-bowing-to-bidens-covid-shot-mandate\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Ron%20Johnson%20Presses%20Pentagon%20On%20Reinstatement%20Of%20Troops%20Fired%20For%20Not%20Bowing%20To%20Biden%E2%80%99s%20Covid%20Shot%20Mandate&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/01\/ron-johnson-presses-pentagon-on-reinstatement-of-troops-fired-for-not-bowing-to-bidens-covid-shot-mandate\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Ron%20Johnson%20Presses%20Pentagon%20On%20Reinstatement%20Of%20Troops%20Fired%20For%20Not%20Bowing%20To%20Biden%E2%80%99s%20Covid%20Shot%20Mandate&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/01\/ron-johnson-presses-pentagon-on-reinstatement-of-troops-fired-for-not-bowing-to-bidens-covid-shot-mandate\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/01\/ron-johnson-presses-pentagon-on-reinstatement-of-troops-fired-for-not-bowing-to-bidens-covid-shot-mandate\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Ron%20Johnson%20Presses%20Pentagon%20On%20Reinstatement%20Of%20Troops%20Fired%20For%20Not%20Bowing%20To%20Biden%E2%80%99s%20Covid%20Shot%20Mandate&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/08\/01\/ron-johnson-presses-pentagon-on-reinstatement-of-troops-fired-for-not-bowing-to-bidens-covid-shot-mandate\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is pressing the Pentagon on its efforts to reinstate military troops fired by the Biden administration for forgoing the Covid shot, the senator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ronjohnson.senate.gov\/2025\/7\/psi-chairman-johnson-writes-to-secretary-hegseth-about-dod-s-efforts-to-assist-service-members-wrongfully-terminated-under-biden-s-covid-19-injection-mandate\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">revealed<\/a> Thursday. <\/p>\n<p>In his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ronjohnson.senate.gov\/services\/files\/9CC68C1B-85CD-4153-9EA7-E65A1FBBAC45\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tuesday letter<\/a>, the Wisconsin Republican asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide an update on what the Defense Department is doing to return service members booted for not getting the experimental jab under President Biden. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-811128667\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As The Federalist previously <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/04\/24\/hegseth-orders-additional-guidance-to-reenlist-troops-booted-over-bidens-unlawful-covid-shot-mandate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>, the mandate was announced by then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in August 2021, and &mdash; while ultimately repealed by Congress &mdash; resulted in the dismissal of roughly 8,700 troops from the service. <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/04\/09\/report-trump-admin-ousts-official-who-shepherded-bidens-military-covid-jab-mandate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Reporting<\/a> in recent years and statements <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecDef\/status\/1915164433157968186\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">issued<\/a> by Hegseth have called the legality of the mandate into question.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This dismissal of thousands of brave men and women from the military was a despicable act that damaged our armed forces,&rdquo; Johnson wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The senator specifically highlighted concerns raised in a recent <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2025\/07\/24\/four-years-later-veterans-still-fighting-to-get-justice-for-covid-vaccine-crackdowns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Daily Caller report<\/a>, which found that, even though &ldquo;President Donald Trump is offering backpay and reinstatement for active duty service members, some troops who fell through the cracks are still fighting for their rights.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Upon taking office, Trump signed an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/01\/reinstating-service-members-discharged-under-the-militarys-covid-19-vaccination-mandate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">executive order<\/a> enabling troops kicked out of the service because of the mandate to be reinstated, with the option to &ldquo;revert to their former rank and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-signs-orders-restoring-integrity-lethality-to-the-military\/\" title=\"Trump Signs ...s Restoring Integrity, Lethality To The ...\">receive full back pay<\/a>, benefits, bonus payments, or compensation.&rdquo; Hegseth <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/Spotlights\/COVID-19-Reinstatement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">signed<\/a> a memo expediting the president&rsquo;s directive in February, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/04\/24\/hegseth-orders-additional-guidance-to-reenlist-troops-booted-over-bidens-unlawful-covid-shot-mandate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">separate edict<\/a> in April providing additional guidance to agency officials to fast-track the reinstatement of affected troops. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We all know that the previous administration issued unlawful orders on mandatory vaccines, on an experimental vaccine &mdash; Covid-19,&rdquo; Hegseth said in an April <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SecDef\/status\/1915164433157968186\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">video message<\/a>. &ldquo;We want anyone impacted by that vaccine mandate back into the military &mdash; people of conscience, warriors of conscience &mdash; back in our formations.&rdquo;  <\/p>\n<p>Citing Hegseth&rsquo;s prior commitments to follow through on such a task, Johnson said he has &ldquo;no doubt that [Hegseth is] committed to assisting our service members.&rdquo; In concluding his letter, the senator requested the defense secretary to &ldquo;carefully review [the Caller] article and provide a briefing to [his] office by August 19, 2025, regarding DoD&rsquo;s efforts to apologize, reinstate, and provide back pay to the service members who were terminated after refusing to take the COVID-19 injection.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/biden-administration\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Biden administration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/covid-jabs\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">covid jabs<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/covid-vaccine-mandates\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">covid vaccine mandates<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/military\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">military<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pentagon\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Pentagon<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pete-hegseth\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Pete Hegseth<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ron-johnson\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Ron Johnson<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/service-members\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">service members<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sen. Ron Johnson urges Pentagon to reinstate troops fired over COVID vaccine refusal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2469783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Military.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[48610,11570,4162,39947,60456],"class_list":["post-2469781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-covid-jab","tag-dod","tag-johnson","tag-military-policy","tag-rehiring-troops"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Military.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2469781"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2469785,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2469781\/revisions\/2469785"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2469783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2469781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2469781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2469781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}