Hegseth directs 20% cut to top military leadership positions
[May 06, 2025]
By TARA COPP
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday directed the
active duty military to shed 20% of its four-star general officers as
the Trump administration moves forward with deep cuts that it says will
promote efficiency but that critics worry could result in a more
politicized force.
Hegseth also told the National Guard to shed 20% of its top positions
and directed the military to cut an additional 10% of its general and
flag officers across the force, which could include any one-star or
above or officer of equivalent Navy rank.
The cuts are on top of more than a half-dozen top general officers that
President Donald Trump or Hegseth have fired since January, including
the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr. They also
have fired the only two women serving as four-star officers, as well as
a disproportionate number of other senior female officers.
In the earlier rounds of firing, Hegseth said the eliminations were “a
reflection of the president wanting the right people around him to
execute the national security approach we want to take.”
As Pentagon chief, Hegseth has touted his efforts to root out any
programming or leadership that endorses diversity in the ranks, tried to
terminate transgender service members and begun sweeping changes to
enforce a uniform fitness standard for combat positions.
In a memo announcing the cuts Monday, Hegseth said they would remove
“redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership.” He
said the aim was to free the military from “unnecessary bureaucratic
layers.”
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., a Marine who served in Iraq and is now on
the House Armed Services Committee, said he sees Hegseth’s actions as
trying to politicize the military.
“He’s creating a formal framework to fire all the generals who disagree
with him — and the president,” Moulton told AP at the Capitol.
He said certainly any organization can look for efficiencies but Hegseth
has long been explicit about his agenda. “He wrote a book about it. He
wants to politicize the military,” Moulton said. "So it’s hard to see
these cuts in any other context.”
Moulton warned of fallout for the troops. “It is essential that our
troops understand they are getting constitutional orders, not political
orders,” he said, “because otherwise you don’t have a democracy,
otherwise you have a military that just works well for one political
party or another.”
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Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth arrives for a meeting with Peru's
Foreign Affairs Minister Elmer Schialer and Peru's Minister of
Defense Walter Astudillo at the Pentagon, Monday, May 5, 2025, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Adding to the turmoil in the Pentagon, Hegseth in recent weeks has
dismissed or transferred multiple close advisers, tightly narrowing
his inner circle. He also has been facing questions from both
Democrats and Republicans about his handling of sensitive
information and use of the Signal messaging app.
There are about 800 general officers in the military, but only 44 of
those are four-star general or flag officers. The Army has the
largest number of general officers, with 219, including eight
four-star generals.
The number of general officer positions in the military is set by
law. Members of Congress were not provided with the advance
notification they normally would receive on the cuts but were given
a “very brief alert” this afternoon, according to a congressional
staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details not
made public.
The cuts were first reported by CNN.
The Pentagon is under pressure to slash spending and personnel as
part of the broader federal government cuts pushed by Trump and ally
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Hegseth last week ordered a sweeping transformation of the Army to
“build a leaner, more lethal force,” including merging or closing
headquarters, dumping outdated vehicles and aircraft, slashing as
many as 1,000 headquarters staff in the Pentagon and shifting
personnel to units in the field.
Also last week the Army confirmed that there will be a military
parade on Trump’s birthday in June, as part of the celebration
around the service’s 250th birthday. Officials say it will cost tens
of millions of dollars.
—-
Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Lolita C. Baldor
contributed to this report.
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