The commander told Trump that Slover should receive the Medal of Honor for his actions, according to an official familiar with the matter. Trump was quickly convinced and signaled to the team he was going to do just that, two senior White House officials told CNN. However, it wasn’t clear until Tuesday, the day Trump was delivering his address, whether the White House could complete the process in time. “The White House and the Pentagon were proud to work expeditiously at the President’s direction to ensure this great American hero received the award he most certainly deserves,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told CNN. On January 3, he was flying an MH-47 — the Special Operations variant of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter — during the operation in Venezuela, dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve.

Source: CNN February 27, 2026 22:27 UTC