In a memo published on May 5, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the military to shed 20% of its four-star general officers and an additional 10% of all general and flag officers, continuing an unprecedented purge of senior military leadership.
The National Guard was also ordered to cut 20% of top positions. About 16,000 Army civilians, 1,600 Marine Corps civilians, and 12,000 Air Force civilians have already taken the deferred resignation offer.
More than a dozen senior generals and admirals have been fired since Trump took office, including the first women to lead the Navy and Coast Guard, and the second African American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The firings appear driven by loyalty tests rather than military performance.
The purge drew rare Republican criticism in late June 2026. Gen. Chris Donahue, the commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa who as a major general was the last American soldier to leave Kabul in 2021, abruptly announced his retirement, a move Sen. Tim Kaine said “caught us all by surprise.” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), of the House Armed Services Committee, said Hegseth had “caused damage to the Pentagon, to our overall military” and had “politicized the process” of promotions, noting about 20 admirals and generals had been fired, including Cyber Command chief Gen. Timothy Haugh, whom he called “irreplaceable.” Reporting indicated Hegseth was also slow-walking promotions for senior officers who are disproportionately women and people of color. Kaine (D-VA) said on CBS that Hegseth, who has said publicly he felt he “wasn't treated well by the Army,” appeared to be acting on a “personal” grudge. In response, the House Armed Services Committee adopted a provision in the annual defense bill requiring the Pentagon to tell Congress in writing, within five days, why a senior officer was fired.
Correction (September 29, 2026): this entry was dated March 5, 2026 and said the cuts it described were ordered during the Iran war. They were ordered in a memo published May 5, 2025, before the war began; the date and text have been corrected. The larger cut announced in September 2026 came during the war and is now its own entry.
In September 2026, during the Iran war, Hegseth doubled the overall cut to 20 percent of general and admiral positions (see Hegseth Orders a 20 Percent Cut in General and Admiral Positions in the Middle of the Iran War, Calling It 'Accountability').