Since President Donald Trump's second term began in January, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired roughly two dozen top generals and admirals — often for political reasons.
Approximately 20 current and former military leaders recently told the New York Times that Hegseth's decisions were leading to the Pentagon having a dearth of generational experience that could take years to recover. Former National Security Council member Kori Schake said the Trump administration was "squandering an enormous amount of talent." Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who was a CIA officer before running for Congress, referred to Hegseth's firings of three-star and four-star generals and admirals as a "purge" on her X account.
"The places where we’ve looked at these kinds of things are places like China," Slotkin said during a Senate hearing. "I used to work on Iraq. They would do the same thing."
Many top officers were fired due to their ties to General Mark Milley (Ret.), who was the United States' top military leader between in the final two years of Trump's first term and through most of former President Joe Biden's term. Milley told journalist Bob Woodward in 2024 that Trump was "fascist to the core" and "the most dangerous person to the country." The Times reported that Hegseth had delayed or cancelled the promotions of "at least four senior military officers" because they previously worked for Milley.
This includes Maj. Gen. James Patrick Work, who was set to head U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East. Work served as Milley's executive officer in 2018, and his status remains in limbo despite strong backing from U.S. Army leadership.
Hegseth also fired Adm. Milton Sands in August, who is the commander of the elite Navy SEALs, because he promoted diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the SEALs. Rear Adm. Michael Donnelly was nominated to become vice admiral and commander of the Navy's Seventh Fleet, which the Times reported is the Navy's largest overseas fighting force. However, Hegseth cancelled his promotion after the far-right Daily Wire reported that a sailor on the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan performed in drag during a talent show (Donnelly was not on board the carrier at the time).
Several of the Times' sources worried that Hegseth had politicized the military, and thereby ruined its credibility among the civilian populace. Gen. Stanley McChrystal (Ret.) told the paper: "Once lost, the legitimacy of a military that reflects and represents all Americans will be difficult to recover."
"The message being sent to those younger soldiers and sailors and airmen and Marines is that politics can and should be part of your military service," Rep. Jason Crow, (D-Colo.), who is a former Army Ranger, told the Times. "It’s a dangerous message."
Click here to read the Times' full report.