Pete Hegseth to double Pentagon cuts to US generals and admirals
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to announce a further reduction in the number of generals and admirals serving in the military, with the Pentagon confirming that he will outline the plan in an address on Wednesday.
Pentagon officials said Hegseth will order all military services to double the 10 per cent cut he announced last spring to the roughly 800 flag and general officer positions, taking the total reduction to 20 per cent by January 1, 2027.
Since President Donald Trump took office, he or Hegseth has fired or pushed into retirement more than two dozen military leaders, including the Army's top uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George, in April. They have also removed the only two women serving as four-star officers, along with a disproportionate number of other senior female officers.
Hegseth is expected to make the announcement during a speech to troops at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. It will be the second year in a row that he delivers what the Pentagon has described as his "State of the Force" address. Fox News had earlier reported the planned reductions, which could apply to any one-star general or above, or officers of the equivalent Navy rank.
As part of last year's cuts, Hegseth had also ordered the active-duty military to reduce its four-star general officers by 20 per cent and the National Guard to cut 20 per cent of its top positions. It is not clear whether all those reductions have been carried out.
In his address to all the military's generals and admirals last year, Hegseth declared an end to "woke" culture and announced new directives for troops, including "gender-neutral" or "male-level" standards for physical fitness. That speech, however, was overshadowed by Trump's attendance, during which he suggested using American cities as training grounds for the armed forces and spoke of the need for US military strength to counter what he called the "invasion from within".
When Hegseth first announced the plan to reduce the top ranks, he said the effort was meant to remove "redundant force structure to optimise and streamline leadership". In a memo released in May 2025, he said the goal was to free the military from "unnecessary bureaucratic layers". While the number of general officer positions is fixed by law, posts can be left vacant by not sending replacement names to Congress.
Hegseth's ties with Congress are already under strain, and he is facing articles of impeachment from Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky over his leadership of the Pentagon and his handling of the Iran war. Senator Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said any move to eliminate senior leadership positions must be made in consultation with Congress and warned that the proposed cuts "should alarm every American".
"Congress has been clear with the Secretary that he must consult this body and explain his reasoning for senior officer removals and promotion holds. To date, we have not received satisfactory answers," Reed said in a statement. "Our military is conducting major operations around the world, and the force is already under strain," he added. "Eliminating senior positions and leaders now will add to that strain and disrupt command when continuity matters most." The proposed cuts mark a further push by Hegseth to shrink the military's senior leadership, even as questions remain over execution and congressional oversight.
