Hegseth looking to cut a slew of senior military personnel in latest Pentagon purge: report

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth plans to announce Wednesday that the Pentagon will eliminate a fifth of its most senior military posts, Fox News reports, based on a September memo it has seen. The cut would double the reduction he ordered a year earlier and is meant to take effect by January 1, 2027. The announcement is slated for his State of the Force speech, where he is also expected to outline his priorities for the coming year, including plans affecting the Army, Navy and Air Force, according to The Independent.

According to the memo, officials must determine which of about 800 general and flag officer jobs can be lowered in rank, in service of a goal of "less generals, more GIs." In May 2025, Hegseth had already moved to trim four-star active-duty positions and National Guard general officer roles by 20 percent, saying the effort was not meant "to punish high-ranking officers."

The former Fox News host has removed many senior leaders since taking over, among them Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Gen. Charles Q Brown Jr. That has unsettled some Republicans. Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he has fired capable officers and blocked promotions, and that many women and Black people were dropped from a promotion list. She and other GOP senators suggested his $1.5 trillion budget request for 2027 could face trouble, citing doubts about his leadership on the Iran war and his alleged weak ties on Capitol Hill.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Independent’s reporting. Read the full story at The Independent →