Lacore, You Earner Casting The First Real Impeachment Stone...
In August 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore from her position overseeing approximately 60,000 Navy reservists. After 35 years of military service, she says she was never told why.
Fifteen months later, the retired three-star admiral has won a seat in the United States Congress.
Lacore's victory in South Carolina's 1st Congressional District is remarkable for several reasons. A former Navy helicopter pilot and mother of six, she defeated Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt in a district that Donald Trump carried by 13 percentage points in 2024. She will become the highest-ranking female military officer ever elected to Congress.
Her election also comes amid an unprecedented breakthrough for women veterans in American politics.
When the new Congress convenes in January 2027, at least 11 women veterans will serve, surpassing the previous record of nine. Among them are a former Marine drill instructor, an Army special operations officer, Navy pilots and an Air Force nurse.
Their backgrounds reflect the expanding roles women have held in the American military, including combat operations, aviation, intelligence and senior command.
The new group includes eight Democrats and three Republicans, counting Senator Tammy Duckworth, who was not up for reelection.
Lacore has also emerged as an outspoken critic of Hegseth. In a November interview, she questioned his leadership and expressed support for efforts to remove him from office.
Hegseth has defended his military leadership overhaul as an effort to reduce bureaucracy and improve effectiveness.
For Lacore, the dismissal that ended her military career has become the beginning of an unexpected political one.
The admiral who once commanded tens of thousands of sailors is heading to Washington, where she will have a voice in overseeing the very department that removed her.
Fifteen months later, the retired three-star admiral has won a seat in the United States Congress.
Lacore's victory in South Carolina's 1st Congressional District is remarkable for several reasons. A former Navy helicopter pilot and mother of six, she defeated Republican Jenny Costa Honeycutt in a district that Donald Trump carried by 13 percentage points in 2024. She will become the highest-ranking female military officer ever elected to Congress.
Her election also comes amid an unprecedented breakthrough for women veterans in American politics.
When the new Congress convenes in January 2027, at least 11 women veterans will serve, surpassing the previous record of nine. Among them are a former Marine drill instructor, an Army special operations officer, Navy pilots and an Air Force nurse.
Their backgrounds reflect the expanding roles women have held in the American military, including combat operations, aviation, intelligence and senior command.
The new group includes eight Democrats and three Republicans, counting Senator Tammy Duckworth, who was not up for reelection.
Lacore has also emerged as an outspoken critic of Hegseth. In a November interview, she questioned his leadership and expressed support for efforts to remove him from office.
Hegseth has defended his military leadership overhaul as an effort to reduce bureaucracy and improve effectiveness.
For Lacore, the dismissal that ended her military career has become the beginning of an unexpected political one.
The admiral who once commanded tens of thousands of sailors is heading to Washington, where she will have a voice in overseeing the very department that removed her.
