Retired Adm. Lisa Franchetti, who was unceremoniously fired by the Trump administration as leader of naval operations for the United States, has teamed up with Rahm Emanuel on a program that encourages young people to continue their ROTC service in college.
“I’m focused on and am passionate about developing the next generation of leaders,” Franchetti said of the Children First scholarship fund that Emanuel, a former ambassador to Japan and critic of President Donald Trump, started with Chicago Public Schools to benefit students in the ROTC programs.
It’s Franchetti’s first public statement since Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired her in a management shift with the new administration.
In an exclusive interview, Franchetti declined to talk about her controversial exit or recent executive orders affecting the military — but she opened up about promoting military service no matter who sits in the White House.
“ROTC and, more broadly, military service, opened the doors of opportunity for me 40 years ago, and I am confident it will do the same for today’s scholarship recipients,” said Franchetti, who met Emanuel while he was ambassador of Japan and was pushing for an overhaul of the Navy’s Japanese shipyard used by allied countries. The project was completed earlier this month.
“I think there are opportunities available to anyone who wants to raise their hand,” Franchetti said.
Pressed on the new policy that bans transgender people from the military, Franchetti said, “I don’t want to make comments on any specific policies because I think the military is a great opportunity for everybody to serve.”
On Monday, Franchetti is set to join Emanuel at Rickover Naval Academy, a high school in Chicago, to announce 12 recipients of the inaugural Admiral Lisa Franchetti ROTC Scholarship.
The scholarship program has special meaning to Franchetti. She was an ROTC graduate who studied journalism at Northwestern University, where a chance meeting with ROTC students led to her getting a scholarship. “I was the eldest of seven, and my dad said, ‘Look around and see if there are any scholarship possibilities so everyone [in the family] can go to college,’” she recalled.
“I signed up and I never planned to make the military a career,” Franchetti said, describing the scholarship offering free books, tuition and a chance to see the world. She said she stuck with the military “to serve something bigger than myself.”
After 40 years of service, she said she hopes the new scholarships in her name help provide similar opportunities.
The scholarship has meaning for Emanuel, too. His son joined the Navy Reserves, which helped influence the former Chicago mayor’s decision to start a scholarship program for students interested in national service.
Emanuel, who also studied at Northwestern, said “it’s frustrating” that Franchetti’s military career ended so abruptly.
“I think this is wrong on a thousand levels,” Emanuel said of her firing. “The Navy was better. Our Armed Forces were better and our values and our interests were better protected when Lisa Franchetti was on point.”
But he adds, “We’re lucky to have her thinking and protecting and caring about service men and women” through the scholarship program.
