US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced a 20% cut to the number of four-star generals and admirals across all military branches. The move, which applies across all military branches, comes amid wider efforts to reduce the federal government’s size and restructure its leadership along ideological lines.
The directive, revealed in a memo signed by Hegseth, also calls for a 20% cut to top-ranking officers in the National Guard and an overall 10% reduction in general and flag officers across the military. These cuts follow a wave of firings in recent months, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr., and the only two women serving as four-star officers. Hegseth defended the firings as necessary to align military leadership with the administration’s national security agenda.
The Pentagon has about 900 general and flag officers, with just 44 holding four-star rank. Congress was not given advance notification of the cuts, raising further concern. Representative Seth Moulton, a Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee and a former Marine, accused the administration of deliberately trying to politicise the military, warning it could erode confidence in the chain of command.
Hegseth has been vocal in his disdain for what he calls the military’s “social justice agenda,” including diversity and inclusion efforts, transgender service policies, and climate programmes. In recent podcasts, he accused senior officers of catering to ideological trends in Washington and vowed to dismantle what he sees as “redundant bureaucratic layers.”
The cuts come alongside a broader overhaul of the defence establishment. Last week, Hegseth ordered the Army to eliminate outdated equipment, shut down headquarters, and reassign thousands of Pentagon staff to frontline units. A military parade to mark Trump’s birthday and the Army’s 250th anniversary is also being planned, reportedly at significant expense.
Meanwhile, intelligence agencies are facing similar downsizing. Around 1,200 CIA positions are being cut, largely through early retirements. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, led by Tulsi Gabbard, has already reduced staff by 25%.