A longtime U.S. Navy doctor was removed from her leadership position after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly reposted a social media link chastising her for a position it appears she never held.
Janelle Marra was relieved of her duties this month as director of medical services at Expeditionary Medical Facility 150-Bravo in San Diego, California, shortly after Hegseth’s post on X announcing her firing, a U.S. defense official confirmed to Military Times.
On Sept. 4, the X account Libs of TikTok, a conservative account with 4.4 million followers on the platform, posted a message along with a screenshot of Marra’s LinkedIn account. The account took issue with information on her profile.
The screenshot called attention to Marra’s displayed pronouns, “she/her,” as well as her displayed title of “Navy Deputy Medical Director for Transgender Health Care,” with a caption that asked the defense secretary to look into the role.
“Yikes,” the Libs of TiKTok post said in response to Marra’s listed job title.
Several hours later, Hegseth reposted the Libs of Tiktok post on his X account with a caption that read, “Pronouns UPDATED: She/Her/Fired.”
That same day, Marra was removed from her leadership position in her Navy unit due to a loss of confidence in her leadership and a potential misuse of social media, the U.S. defense official told Military Times on the condition of anonymity.
The Navy initiated an investigation into Marra’s social media practices after the administrative removal took place, the official said.
It appears Marra never held the position the Libs of TikTok account asked the defense secretary to investigate. The job was intended to be part of a once-proposed transgender health center within the Defense Health Agency, but the center was never created.
“That was a position that DHA solicited for nominations from the services during the last administration,” the defense official told Military Times. “She was nominated for that position.”
However, it appears the role was never filled, and the idea for the center was dropped. The Defense Health Agency corroborated the official’s statement.
“The Department does not have a Transgender Health Center,” a Defense Health Agency spokesperson told Military Times. “It was considered last year, but the idea was abandoned.”
It’s unclear why Marra added the title to her LinkedIn profile. She did not respond to questions following her firing. The Pentagon declined to comment.
Col. Bree Fram, a transgender service member in the U.S. Space Force with nearly 23 years in the military, said Marra’s firing was emblematic of a culture of sensationalism and headlines that derive from very little. Fram spoke to Military Times to offer her own opinions, which she noted do not reflect the those of the Defense Department.
“To suffer through a firestorm of controversy over something in the past that was assigned to her as a role by the Navy is really disappointing,” Fram said. “When service members are attacked, we would hope that their superiors come to their defense when there is nothing to the allegations that are being made.”
Libs of TikTok was founded by Chaya Raichik, an activist who has admitted to being at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has joined ICE ride-alongs with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and has recently used her social media presence to identify and fire individuals who the account accuses of celebrating the murder of conservative media figure Charlie Kirk.
A Feb. 26 Pentagon memo said individuals with a diagnosis or symptoms of gender dysphoria have medical, surgical and mental health constraints that are “incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service.”
Defense officials have said that about 4,000 transgender individuals are currently serving in the military, both on active duty and in the reserves.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
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