Pete Hegseth faced Congress this week over his handling of the Iran war and the Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion defense spending proposal for 2027, just as the Pentagon’s personnel shakeup deepened again. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George was fired in the middle of the war, the latest move in a series that has unsettled lawmakers and military leaders.
George had been one of the Army’s most visible figures after being credited with helping pull the service out of a recruiting crisis in 2024. He also pushed for new drone-based technologies and clashed earlier this year with Hegseth over efforts to block the promotion of four Army officers to become one-star generals, two of whom were Black and two of whom were women. He was replaced by Gen. Christopher LaNeve, who had been Hegseth’s former senior assistant at the Pentagon.
The personnel purge reaches across the military. Since Hegseth became head of the Pentagon last year, he has overseen a dozen dismissals, retirements and reassignments among some of the highest positions in the U.S. military. The list has included the first female commandant of the Coast Guard, the head of the Army’s Chaplain Corps and a four-star general overseeing the Army’s Transformation and Training Command. Navy Secretary John Phelan was fired last week.
That pattern is what has made the latest changes politically sensitive. House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers said George “made great progress on increasing recruitment, improving efficiency, and modernizing the Army.” Rep. Rich McCormick called the removal “concerning” and said, “I thought he's done a really good job getting the Army ready for war.” A Republican senator said on Monday that lawmakers were worried about Hegseth’s plans for the military, adding, “We don't really understand why they're being removed … There aren't clear criteria or mistakes that they've made. So it's hard to say what the motives are.” The senator added that “The hollowing out of incredible leadership at the Pentagon has been a big concern” and said it “really came to a tipping point when Gen. George was dismissed.”
Sen. Thom Tillis also said the firings had been “less than ideal.” He called the dismissed generals “extraordinary” and said, “I think he's missing the mark on personnel,” adding, “I don't quite know what's going on there.” Justin Logan described Hegseth as “a pundit in the Secretary's office.”
The issue now is not whether Hegseth can keep driving change; he already has. The question is whether Congress and the military will accept a leadership style that keeps moving top officers out just as the Pentagon is being asked to manage a war and shape the 2027 defense budget at the same time.
