The firing of US Navy Secretary John Phelan this week marks the latest in a string of senior military dismissals during President Donald Trump’s administration, an unusually broad shake up of US defense leadership unfolding alongside overseas conflicts and heightened operational demands.
Others fired from all levels of leadership at the Pentagon under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth include:
On April 2, Hegseth fired George without citing a reason. Two US officials said the decision was tied to tensions between Hegseth and Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll.
George departed as the US military was building up its forces in the Middle East for the US-Israeli war with Iran. That same month, General David Hodne, who led the Army’s Transformation and Training Command, and Major General William Green, who headed the Army’s Chaplain Corps, were also fired.
Kruse, who headed the Pentagon’s intelligence agency, was fired by Hegseth on August 22, 2025. Hegseth had also ordered the removal of the chief of the US Navy Reserve and the commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, a US official told Reuters at the time. No reason was given for the firings.
Haugh, director of the National Security Agency, was fired by Trump on April 3, 2025, in a national security purge that sources said included more than a dozen staff at the White House National Security Council. No reason was given for the firings.
Brown, an Air Force general, was fired by Trump on February 21, 2025, in an unprecedented shake-up of US military leadership in which five other admirals and generals also were ousted. Reserve and the commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, a US official told Reuters at the time. No reason was given for the firings.
Haugh, director of the National Security Agency, was fired by Trump on April 3, 2025, in a national security purge that sources said included more than a dozen staff at the White House National Security Council. No reason was given for the firings.
Brown, an Air Force general, was fired by Trump on February 21, 2025, in an unprecedented shake-up of US military leadership in which five other admirals and generals also were ousted.
Brown, the second Black officer to become the president’s top uniformed military adviser, was serving a four-year term meant to end in September 2027. Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to lead a military service as chief of naval operations, was fired along with Brown.
Fagan, the US Coast Guard commandant, was fired on January 21, 2025, the first full day of Trump’s second term. Fagan was the first female uniformed leader of a branch of the US Armed Forces.
One of the reasons was Fagan’s “excessive” focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, policies, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
