特朗普第二任期内被解职的两名军官启动民主党国会竞选
在唐纳德·特朗普总统重返白宫的第一年里被军队开除的两名军官本周开启了新征程：作为民主党人竞选国会席位。
一名退休的美国太空军上校因特朗普政府禁止跨性别者服役的禁令而被军队开除，他宣布将在弗吉尼亚州北部竞选国会席位。
另一名高级海军官员去年被战争部长皮特·赫格斯泰斯解职，她也在南卡罗来纳州发起了国会竞选。
他们的候选人资格凸显了对特朗普时代军事政策日益强烈的政治反弹，因为被解职的前军官们希望通过国会重新进入公共生活。
布里·弗拉姆（Bree Fram）于2025年12月被战争部长皮特·赫格斯泰斯从海军开除，图为2025年6月5日她在比利时布鲁塞尔参加北约会议时的照片。（奥马尔·哈瓦纳/盖蒂图片社）
布里·弗拉姆于2021年8月加入美国太空军，在那里晋升至上校军衔。
唐纳德·特朗普总统签署了一项行政命令，五角大楼在赫格斯泰斯领导下发布指导方针，禁止大多数跨性别者——包括有性别不安诊断史或病史的人——服役。2025年3月，一名联邦法官发布初步禁令阻止该政策执行，但法院在诉讼持续期间允许该政策继续推进。据弗拉姆称，她于2025年6月被停职，等待离职，因总统政策被迫于2025年底退休。
弗拉姆誓言“我不会逃避对宪法的誓言”。
在周二发布的竞选启动视频中，弗拉姆说：“我身着军装23年，肩扛国旗，晋升至上校。但后来唐纳德·特朗普解雇了我，不是因为我的表现，而是因为我的身份。”
弗拉姆表示，她竞选国会席位是“因为太多美国人害怕联邦政府会对他们做什么，而不是对政府能为他们做什么有信心。”
弗吉尼亚州可能会在11月中期选举前重新绘制国会选区地图，这是特朗普和共和党人对民主党之间高风险的选区重划战的一部分。弗拉姆计划在新的国会选区界限确定后，在她居住的任何选区参选。
弗拉姆的家乡弗吉尼亚州雷斯顿目前位于该州第11国会选区，由民主党众议员詹姆斯·沃金肖（James Walkinshaw）代表。沃金肖去年在补选中以压倒性优势获胜，接替于5月因癌症去世的已故众议员杰里·康诺利。沃金肖曾是康诺利的幕僚长。
詹姆斯·沃金肖众议员，D-Va.，赢得补选，接替已故众议员杰里·康诺利。（保罗·施泰因豪泽/福克斯新闻）
在南卡罗来纳州，前三星海军上将南希·拉科尔周二加入了该州第1国会选区的空缺席位竞选。
拉科尔是一名35年军龄的老兵，曾担任海军直升机飞行员，后来担任海军预备役司令（6万人部队），于去年8月被解职。解雇原因尚未明确，但这是赫格斯泰斯领导的高调领导层清洗的一部分，其中包括解雇美国国防情报局局长杰弗里·克鲁斯中将和监督海军特种作战司令部的海军海豹突击队军官米尔顿·桑兹海军少将。
拉科尔在她的竞选启动视频中声称：“经过数十年为国家服务，从海军飞行员开始，以三星海军上将结束，我被无故解职。”
她强调：“我还有更多的贡献、更多的战斗、更多的工作要做——我还没有完成我的服役使命。”
当被问及拉科尔的说法时，陆军部没有立即回应置评请求。
拉科尔加入了一个竞争激烈的候选人阵容，民主党人和共和党人都在竞选接替三届共和党众议员南希·梅斯的席位，梅斯正在竞选南卡罗来纳州州长。
南卡罗来纳州第1国会选区的共和党众议员南希·梅斯今年将竞选州长而非寻求连任，众多共和党人和民主党人正在角逐该席位。（汤姆·威廉姆斯/CQ-Roll Call，Inc via盖蒂图片社）
民主党人正试图翻转该州低地地区这个倾向于保守派的沿海国会选区。
“如果我们要建立一个持久且成功的联盟，南卡罗来纳州第一选区不是民主党人可以放弃的选区，而南希是唯一有能力获胜的候选人，”与民主党结盟的组织“基准”（The Bench）发言人马特·科里多尼表示，该组织强调其“通过在艰难选区招募和支持优秀候选人来培养下一代民主党领导人”。
保罗·施泰因豪泽是一名驻摇摆州新罕布什尔州的政治记者，报道全国的竞选活动。
Fired under Trump, former military officers launch Democratic bids for Congress
2 officers forced out of military during Trump’s second term launch Democratic congressional bids
Two officers who were pushed out of the military during President Donald Trump’s first year back in the White House have launched new missions this week: running for Congress as Democrats.
A retired U.S. Space Force colonel, who was forced out of the military under the Trump administration’s ban on transgender service members, announced a run for Congress in Northern Virginia.
And a senior Navy official removed from her post last year by War Secretary Pete Hegseth launched a congressional bid in South Carolina.
Their candidacies highlight a growing political backlash to Trump-era military policies, as former officers removed from service look to re-enter public life through Congress.
Bree Fram was removed from the Navy in December by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, pictured here at a NATO meeting in Brussels, Belgium, June 5, 2025.(Omar Havana/Getty Images)
Bree Fram joined the U.S. Space Force in August 2021, where she rose to the rank of colonel.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order and the Pentagon, under Hegseth, issued guidance that barred most transgender people — including those with a diagnosis or history of gender dysphoria — from military service. A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in March 2025 blocking enforcement, but courts later allowed the policy to move forward while litigation continued. According to Fram, she was placed on administrative leave in June 2025 pending separation, and was forced to retire at the end of 2025 due to presidential policy.
Fram pledged that “I’m not going to run away from my oath to the Constitution.”
In a campaign launch video posted on Tuesday, Fram said, “I served 23 years wearing the flag on my shoulder, reaching the rank of colonel. But then Donald Trump fired me, not because of my performance but because of who I am.”
Fram said she’s running for Congress “because too many Americans are afraid of what the federal government will do to them instead of being confident of what it can do for them.”
Virginia is likely to redraw its congressional map ahead of November’s midterm elections, as part of the high-stakes redistricting battle between Trump and Republicans versus Democrats. And Fram plans to run in whichever district she resides in once the new congressional lines are finalized.
Fram’s hometown of Reston, Virginia, is currently in the state’s 11th Congressional District, which is represented by Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw, who last year won a special election in a landslide to succeed the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died from cancer in May. Walkinshaw was a former Connolly chief of staff.
Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., won a special election to succeed the late Rep. Gerry Connolly.(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
In South Carolina, former three-star vice admiral Nancy Lacore on Tuesday jumped into the open seat race in the state’s 1st Congressional District.
Lacore, a 35-year military veteran who served as a Navy helicopter pilot and later as chief of the Navy Reserve, a 60,000-person force, was removed last August. The reason for her firing was not made clear, but it occurred as part of a high-profile leadership purge headed by Hegseth which included the dismissal of Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, and Rear Adm. Milton Sands, a Navy SEAL officer who oversees Naval Special Warfare Command.
“After decades of service to our country, a career that started as a Navy pilot and finished as a three-star admiral, I was removed from my position without cause,” Lacore claimed in her campaign launch video.
And she emphasized, “I still have more to give, more to fight for, more work to do — and I am not done serving.”
The War Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment when asked about Lacore’s claim.
Lacore joins a crowded field of Democrats and Republicans running to succeed three-term GOP Rep. Nancy Mace, who is running for South Carolina governor.
A large field of Republicans and Democrats are running to succeed GOP Rep. Nancy Mace in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District. Mace is running for governor this year rather than seek re-election.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Democrats are aiming to flip the right-leaning coastal congressional district in the state’s Lowcountry.
“The South Carolina First isn’t a District that Democrats can concede if we’re going to build a lasting and winning coalition, and Nancy is the only candidate in a position to win,” said Matt Corridoni, a spokesperson for The Bench, a Democrat-aligned group that highlights it’s “building the next generation of Democratic leaders by recruiting and supporting great candidates in tough districts.”
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.
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