The Pentagon declared on Friday that the U.S. military’s top priority is to defend the homeland and Western Hemisphere, a shift supplanting its longstanding goal of countering China.

The 2026 National Defense Strategy — a quadrennial report — described the change as a sharp alteration “in approach, focus, and tone.” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, in a pointed critique of past policy, wrote the U.S. government had previously “neglected – even rejected – putting Americans and their concrete interests first."

“No longer will the Department be distracted by interventionism, endless wars, regime change, and nation building,” he added.

The 34-page blueprint asserts the “Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine” encompasses a commitment to restoring American military dominance in the Western Hemisphere. It also prioritizes access to strategic locations such as Greenland, the Panama Canal and the Gulf of Mexico. President Donald Trump has framed this approach as the “Donroe Doctrine,” a modern iteration of Monroe’s principle that European powers should not intervene in the Western Hemisphere.

“America’s military stands ready to enforce it,” the Pentagon report said.

China ranks as the Trump administration’s second priority — a contrast from both the president’s first term and from his predecessor, Joe Biden, who regarded Beijing as Washington’s principal adversary.

The Pentagon said it aims to be “clear-eyed and realistic about the speed, scale, and quality” of China’s historic military buildup, but the goal is neither to “dominate,” nor to “strangle or humiliate them.”

The killing of Veterans Affairs nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by U.S. Border Patrol personnel has drawn a strong response from veterans, with many denouncing the slaying and others calling for a political audit of personnel working at the VA.

A statement on X on Sunday from VA Secretary Doug Collins drew more than 2.7 million views and 6,000 responses by mid-day Monday.

“As President Trump has said, nobody wants to see chaos and death in American cities. … Such tragedies are unfortunately happening in Minnesota because of state and local officials’ refusal to cooperate with the federal government to enforce the law and deport dangerous illegal criminals,” wrote Collins, an Air Force colonel and chaplain.

The statement sparked outrage from followers and calls from progressive advocacy groups, such as VoteVets, for Collins’s resignation.

“This happened because some fake, wannabe soldiers marched down the street looking to intimidate and rough up people. If you can’t stand up for your employees who serve us veterans, resign,” wrote VoteVets on X.

Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America and Independent Veterans of America, noted that Collins took more than a day to issue a statement about a VA employee’s death, and when it arrived, it was “disgraceful,” he said.

“[Collins] always and clearly cares more about loyalty to Trump than loyalty to veterans. Every one can see what this is. And what Collins is. Especially veterans. Alex Pretti, veterans and America — all deserve so much better,” Reickhoff wrote in a post on X

Numerous lawmakers, including a growing number of Republicans, have called for a thorough investigation and a deescalation of the violence in Minneapolis, which saw another protester and American citizen, Renee Good, shot earlier this month by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

Shortly after Pretti’s death, House Veterans Affairs Committee Ranking Member Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., issued a statement condemning the killing of the VA employee.

“In that role, he served the brave men and women who fought to defend his rights and the rights of all Americans, including the rights to free speech and assembly. The heartwarming tributes from his coworkers sharing that he was someone who ‘lived to help’ make this senseless killing even more heartbreaking,” Takano said in a statement. “What is happening across America is not normal and should not be accepted as such.”

Republican Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, chairman of Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said in a statement Monday to Military Times that he was “deeply troubled by the shootings.” He called for an “investigation to the fullest extent to ensure transparency and accountability.”

“Our Constitution provides citizens protection from the government. We have a right to free speech, to peaceably assemble and to bear arms. We also expect government to protect us from lawless behavior. Enforcing immigration laws that remove dangerous criminals from our streets and neighborhoods makes us safer and increases our national security.?This can only be accomplished if local, state and federal officials work together to uphold the law. Law enforcement must reflect our nation’s values, and citizens should obey the law,” Moran said.

Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said that President Donald Trump needed to decide what the ultimate goal was for immigration enforcement.

“Nobody likes the feds coming to their states,” Stitt said in an interview Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. “And so what is the goal right now? Is it to deport every single non-U.S. citizen? I don’t think that’s what Americans want.”

And Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., who served in the Army for 25 years, called for Americans to rise up in protest after the killings.

“An ICU nurse that works at a VA hospital was killed by thugs … three people have been killed by untrained thugs,” Vindman said in a video posted on X. “If you love freedom, if you love America, we need massive resistance.”