President Donald Trump said the U.S military is attracting more recruits following the start of his second administration in January.
According to Trump, his executive order ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the federal government led to a surge of Americans enlisting to serve the military, the Department of Defense said Wednesday. The president reported the recruitment uptick during his address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.
“I am pleased to report that in January, the U.S. Army had its single best recruiting month in 15 years and that all armed services are having among the best recruiting results ever in the history of our services,” Trump said.
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Rebuilding the U.S. Military
Earlier, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued a statement underscoring the Trump administration’s policy. Hegseth, a 2025 Wash100 Award recipient, stressed he intends to rebuild the country’s military focusing “on lethality, meritocracy, accountability, standards and readiness.”
Establishing ‘Golden Dome,’ Increasing US Shipbuilding Capacity
Trump also discussed the government’s upcoming military modernization efforts, such as creating a defense system to intercept incoming missile attacks. The president asked Congress to fund “Golden Dome,” which he pointed out is part of the administration’s initiatives to build “the most powerful military of the future.”
In addition, Trump pledged to expand the country’s shipbuilding capacity and announced the establishment of an Office of Shipbuilding within the White House. Under the new office, the government will offer tax incentives to drive domestic shipbuilding, Trump said. “We are also going to resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding,” the president explained.
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