Some people have one big chapter in their life. Carl Higbie has had about six. From combat in Iraq to a White House job to a cable news show, his path has been anything but ordinary.
Quick Bio Facts
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Carlton “Carl” Milo Higbie IV |
| Born | April 23, 1983 |
| Birthplace | Greenwich, Connecticut |
| High School | Greenwich High School |
| College | Sacred Heart University (dropped out 2003) |
| High School Sport | Wrestling — state champion |
| Military | US Navy SEAL, 2005–2012 |
| Unit | SEAL Team 10, Echo Platoon |
| Rank | Petty Officer First Class, Special Warfare Operator First Class |
| Iraq Tours | Two — 2007 (under Bush), 2009 (under Obama) |
| Books | Battle on the Home Front (2012); Enemies Foreign and Domestic (2016); Profiles in Freedom |
| Trump Admin Role | Chief of External Affairs, CNCS (AmeriCorps agency) |
| Resigned | January 18, 2018 |
| Newsmax Shows | Saturday Report (2020), Wake Up America Weekend (2022), Carl Higbie Frontline (2023–present) |
| Show Timeslot | 6PM ET (from September 2025) |
| Family | Married; one daughter (first marriage), two sons (second marriage) |
| Health Disclosure | ADHD, revealed on air October 17, 2024 |
| 2024 Lawsuit | Filed Feb 5, 2024 — challenged NY firearm laws for non-residents |
A Greenwich Kid Who Chose Combat Over Comfort
Carl grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut. It’s a well-off town, but Carl wasn’t the country club type. He threw himself into wrestling and became a state champion at Greenwich High School.
After high school he enrolled at Sacred Heart University. Then September 11 happened. The images didn’t leave him. By 2003, with American troops heading to Iraq, he walked away from college and enlisted in the Navy.
He left a real wrestling future behind. That tells you something about who he was at twenty years old.
Earning the Trident
Getting through Navy SEAL training is brutal. Most people who attempt it don’t finish. Carl did.
He became a SEAL in 2005, assigned to SEAL Team 10, Echo Platoon. He reached the rank of Petty Officer First Class with the rating of Special Warfare Operator, First Class. He served from 2005 to 2012.
He completed two combat deployments in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, serving once in 2007 and again in 2009. After returning from those missions, he transitioned into a leadership and training position, where he instructed other operators in areas such as Close Quarters Combat and air operations.
Capturing the Butcher of Fallujah
During his 2009 deployment, Carl was part of the operation that captured Ahmad Hashim Abd al-Isawi. This man was responsible for the 2004 Fallujah ambush where four American security contractors were killed, their bodies mutilated, and images were broadcast globally.
After the capture, al-Isawi claimed the SEALs had beaten him. Three of Carl’s teammates, Matthew McCabe, Jonathan Keefe, and Julio Huertas, faced courts-martial. Carl testified in their defense. All three were acquitted.
Carl went public with his account of what happened. The Navy pushed back hard. That fight eventually became the core of his second book.
The First Book and a Legal Fight
In 2012, Carl self-published Battle on the Home Front. It criticized problems he saw inside the military and government. The Navy’s response was swift — they downgraded his security clearance from top secret.
They also changed his discharge status from honorable to general. Carl appealed. He fought it through the system. He eventually won and his honorable discharge was restored.
That whole experience reinforced his identity as someone willing to take on institutions, even military ones.
Two More Books
His second book, Enemies, Foreign and Domestic, came out in 2016 through Post Hill Press. Co-written with Brandon Caro, it tells the full story of the Fallujah capture and the legal battle that followed.
His third book, Profiles in Freedom: Heroes Who Shaped America, takes a different angle. It highlights historical American figures Carl believes have been written out of the national conversation. Senator Markwayne Mullin wrote the foreword.
Running for Congress
In 2014, Carl ran for the Republican nomination in Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District. He was working as a personal trainer at Equinox in Greenwich at the time.
He described his politics as socially conservative but legislatively “live and let live.” He pushed for a flat 10 percent income tax and wanted corporate taxes eliminated. He had trouble raising money.
The Republican convention went five ways. Former State Senator Dan Debicella won with 195 of 210 delegate votes. Carl was out. Debicella later lost the general to incumbent Jim Himes.
Trump 2016 Surrogate
When Donald Trump ran in 2016, Carl became a visible supporter. He was a spokesman for the Great America PAC, a Super PAC backing Trump, and appeared regularly on Fox News and CNN.
During the transition period he defended Steve Bannon’s appointment as Chief Strategist. He said Bannon had excelled in every role he’d held and had served in the Navy. That defense got attention.
A more controversial moment came in a Fox News interview with Megyn Kelly. Carl brought up the World War Two internment of Japanese Americans as possible legal precedent for a proposed Muslim immigrant registry. Kelly pushed back firmly on air. He repeated similar points to CNN’s Erin Burnett the next day.
George Takei, who experienced one of those camps firsthand as a child, publicly spoke out with strong criticism in response.
Trump’s transition team later distanced itself from the idea of a Muslim registry.
The White House Job
After Trump’s inauguration, Carl was appointed Chief of External Affairs at the Corporation for National and Community Service. That’s the federal agency that runs AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve America.
He was the public face of the organization. The job lasted about a year.
The Resignation
In January 2018, CNN’s KFile unit surfaced audio recordings from a 2013 internet radio show Carl had hosted, called Sound of Freedom. The recordings contained racist remarks about Black Americans, anti-Muslim statements, sexist comments, anti-gay language, and statements dismissing PTSD among veterans.
He resigned on January 18, 2018. He published an apology saying the remarks were wrong and that he regretted making them.
After the resignation he joined America First Policies as Director of Advocacy, a group promoting Trump’s agenda. Within months he began walking back parts of his apology, reframing several of the remarks as factual claims that had been pulled from their original context and misrepresented. Three major donors to the group, CVS Health, Southern Company, and Dow Chemical, pulled their funding after the reports surfaced. Carl resigned from that organization too in June 2018.
Building at Newsmax
Carl landed at Newsmax and started building a television career. He hosted Saturday Report from 2020. In 2022 he moved to Wake Up America Weekend.
In April 2023 Newsmax launched Carl Higbie Frontline in the 5PM slot after Sean Spicer left the network. The show was positioned around breaking news, personal liberty, and government accountability topics. By September 2025 the show moved to 6PM ET.
Personal Life
Carl is married. He has three children. His daughter is from his first marriage. His two sons are from his second.
On October 17, 2024, he disclosed on his show that he has ADHD. It was a candid moment on national television.
On February 5, 2024, Carl and two other plaintiffs filed a federal lawsuit in New York, challenging state regulations that prevent people from outside the state from legally carrying firearms there.
Final Words
Carl Higbie’s life has moved fast and taken hard turns. He earned something genuinely difficult in the SEAL teams. He wrote about his experiences when it cost him professionally. He entered politics, got a White House appointment, lost it over things he said years earlier, and rebuilt through television.
The record is mixed in honest ways. Real military service sits alongside recorded comments that caused real harm. His apology came and then partially retreated. He’s still on television every weeknight and still a recognizable voice in conservative media.
His story is worth knowing fully, not just the parts that fit neatly.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Carl Higbie’s full name?
Carlton Milo Higbie IV.
2. Where was Carl Higbie born?
Greenwich, Connecticut, on April 23, 1983.
3. Was Carl Higbie really a Navy SEAL?
Yes. He served from 2005 to 2012 with SEAL Team 10, Echo Platoon, reaching Petty Officer First Class rank.
4. How many combat tours did he serve?
Two tours in Iraq under Operation Iraqi Freedom, in 2007 and 2009.
5. What was the Butcher of Fallujah operation?
In 2009 Carl’s team captured Ahmad Hashim Abd al-Isawi, responsible for the 2004 Fallujah ambush killing four American contractors. Three teammates were later charged with prisoner abuse but all were acquitted. Carl testified for the defense.
6. Why did Carl Higbie leave the Navy?
He signed out before completing his term. After his first book, his security clearance was downgraded and his discharge was changed to general, though he won an appeal and had his honorable discharge restored.
7. What books has Carl Higbie written?
Battle on the Home Front (2012), Enemies Foreign and Domestic (2016), and Profiles in Freedom.
8. What political role did he play in 2016?
He was a Trump campaign surrogate and spokesman for the Great America PAC.
9. What government job did Carl Higbie hold?
Chief of External Affairs at the Corporation for National and Community Service under President Trump.
10. Why did he resign from that job?
CNN surfaced audio from a 2013 radio show where he made racist, anti-Muslim, sexist, and anti-gay remarks. He resigned January 18, 2018.
11. Did he apologize?
Yes, at first he appeared to offer a clear apology. However, he later softened that response, saying that some of his comments were intended as statistical observations that had been taken out of context.
12. What is Carl Higbie Frontline?
His nightly show on Newsmax, launched April 2023, currently airing at 6PM ET.
13. Does Carl Higbie have children?
Yes. Three children total — one daughter from his first marriage and two sons from his second.
14. Has he disclosed any health condition publicly?
Yes. He revealed on air on October 17, 2024, that he has ADHD.
15. Is Carl Higbie involved in any legal cases?
Yes. On February 5, 2024, he filed a lawsuit challenging New York State laws restricting non-residents from carrying firearms publicly.
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