In yet another bold move to overhaul a military long criticized by conservatives as bloated and politicized, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has reportedly pushed out one of the Army’s top brass.
An Army official told Fox News that Hegseth gave Gen. Randy George no reason for demanding he step aside.
George, the Army’s highest-ranking uniformed officer and a sitting member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wasn’t exactly a neutral figure. He was nominated by President Joe Biden and rubber-stamped by the Senate in 2023, with expectations he’d remain in the role until at least 2027. That long runway just got abruptly cut short.
Before rising to Army chief, George built his résumé as a career infantry officer, logging combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also served as a top aide to then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from 2021 to 2022 — a Biden-era insider through and through.
Now, with George out, Gen. Christopher LaNeve — currently the Army’s vice chief of staff — will step in as acting chief, according to a senior Defense Department official.
This isn’t just a personnel swap. It’s the latest flashpoint in a simmering feud between Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll — and it’s exposing deeper fractures inside the Pentagon.
In an unusual move, Hegseth recently stepped in to yank several Army officers off a promotion list after Driscoll refused to act. A U.S. official told Fox News the intervention was anything but routine — and it quickly drew the attention of the White House, which reviews top military promotions before they head to the Senate.
Hegseth’s latest action is part of a campaign to reshape military leadership from the top down. And the shakeups haven’t been small.
Among the most high-profile casualties: former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti — both sidelined earlier during President Trump’s second term as part of the sweeping reset.
But the overhaul doesn’t stop at headline names. Hegseth has dug deep into the leadership pipeline, replacing the Army’s vice chief of staff earlier this year and removing Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short from her influential role as senior military assistant. In their place? Trusted allies now occupy key advisory posts.
The Pentagon’s old guard is on notice — and Hegseth isn’t asking politely.
