Hegseth also removed Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore, the chief of the U.S. Navy Reserve, and Rear Admiral Milton Sands, the commander of Naval Special Warfare Command.
Washington DC: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has dismissed three senior military officials in a sweeping shake-up of the Pentagon’s leadership, furthering what appears to be a systematic purge of figures perceived to be out of step with President Donald Trump’s national security approach.
Among those removed was Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), whose ousting came just weeks after a leaked DIA assessment contradicted Trump’s claim that recent U.S. airstrikes had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities. The report instead concluded that the strikes had set back Iran’s program by only a few months, prompting a wave of media coverage and fierce backlash from the White House, which dismissed the findings as “flat out wrong” and accused major news outlets of spreading “fake news.”
Alongside Kruse, Hegseth also removed Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore, the chief of the U.S. Navy Reserve, and Rear Admiral Milton Sands, the commander of Naval Special Warfare Command. Though no official reasons were provided for any of the firings, U.S. officials confirmed that the dismissals had occurred, and the move was widely seen as a continuation of the administration’s drive to realign the national security and defense apparatus with Trump’s political and strategic agenda.
The firings were first reported by the Washington Post and later confirmed by Reuters, although the Pentagon declined to offer further comment.
The dismissal of Kruse marks the latest in a series of high-level departures under Hegseth’s tenure. Earlier this year, in April, Trump fired General Timothy Haugh as head of the National Security Agency (NSA), a move that followed the removal of several National Security Council staff members. In February, Hegseth dismissed Air Force General C.Q. Brown, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, along with five other senior military officials in what was described as an unprecedented overhaul of military leadership.
The pattern of removals has raised concerns among lawmakers and analysts, who argue that national security decisions are increasingly being shaped not by expertise or performance, but by perceived loyalty to Trump.
In tandem with the shake-up at the Pentagon, the administration has also taken aggressive steps within the intelligence community. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard recently announced the revocation of security clearances for 37 current and former intelligence officials, acting on Trump’s orders. The list reportedly includes high-profile figures such as Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, both of whom were defeated by Trump and Gabbard in the 2024 election.
Gabbard also unveiled a major restructuring of her office, cutting its personnel by over 40% with the aim of saving more than $700 million annually.
Criticism from Capitol Hill was swift. Senator Mark Warner, the vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, called the move “dangerous,” warning that the administration is treating intelligence “as a loyalty test rather than a safeguard for our country.” Representative Jim Himes, ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said the continued politicization of the military and intelligence community risks undermining institutional independence and silencing critical voices within the national security establishment.
Critics argue that firing career officials over honest assessments damages morale, distorts decision-making, and may prevent future leaders from delivering frank intelligence to policymakers.
While the White House insists the purges are part of broader government reforms aimed at streamlining operations and eliminating politicized bureaucracies, many see a deeper motive: to consolidate power by removing dissenting voices. The apparent retaliation against Kruse for the Iran assessment is seen by many as emblematic of this trend.
The leak itself sparked particular fury from Trump, who lashed out at the media for publishing it and insisted that the strikes had achieved their goals.
