Trump mistakenly refers to ousted Lt. Gen. Sylvia as a woman when questioned by press: ‘She’s got problems’

President Donald Trump mistakenly referred to ousted Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia as “she” after a reporter referenced the lieutenant general only by his rank and last name during her question.“She’s got problems,” Trump said when asked about the investigation on Thursday. “She’s gonna have big problems. We’re very much looking for leakers.”Sylvia was fired from his position as a top military planner in the Joint Staff after an investigation into leaks, according to Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. Before Sylvia was removed, he served as the director of strategy, plans, and policy, J5. He also previously served as a 101st Airborne Division commanding general, according to the General Officer Management Office.A spokesperson for the Joint Staff expressed the “deepest gratitude” to Sylvia for his service in an initial statement to the Washington Examiner. However, the latest follow-up statement said the organization would not comment further “out of respect for the service member and the ongoing personnel process.”LEAK INVESTIGATION LED TO FIRING OF JOINT STAFF MEMBER AND DOJ REFERRAL: PENTAGONWar Secretary Pete Hegseth has been adamant about the Pentagon’s crackdown on leaking information to the media. In 2025, he fired three staffers accused of leaking information, which the staffers denied in a joint statement saying, “We understand the importance of information security and work every day to protect it. At this time, we still have not been told what exactly we were investigated for, if there is still an active investigation, or if there was even a real investigation of ‘leaks’ to begin with.”Hegseth, however, in 2025, shared imminent military operations during an assault in Yemen against the Houthis last year in two Signal group chats. One group chat unknowingly included an Atlantic journalist, who was able to view the discussion of operation plans in real time.The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House for comment.