WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced a sweeping reduction of top military brass, ordering a 20% cut in four-star generals and admirals as part of a broader restructuring effort at the Pentagon. The move, which Hegseth claims will streamline command and eliminate bureaucratic inefficiencies, has drawn sharp criticism from lawmakers and defense experts who warn it risks politicising the military.
The order, outlined in a memo released Monday, also mandates a 10% reduction in the total number of general and flag officers across all service branches. The U.S. military currently has over 800 generals, including 44 four-star officers — the highest rank in the armed forces.
Hegseth said the cuts are intended to remove “unnecessary bureaucratic layers” and strengthen the military’s strategic readiness. “This is not about punishing high-ranking officers,” he said. “This is about ensuring we are agile, lethal, and focused.”
But critics, particularly on Capitol Hill, are raising alarms. Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton, a Marine Corps veteran who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, accused Hegseth of weaponising personnel decisions to align military leadership with President Trump’s political agenda.
“He’s creating a formal framework to fire all the generals who disagree with him — and the president,” Moulton said. “This is not reform. It’s a purge.”
The announcement follows a series of high-profile dismissals since the start of Trump’s second term in January, including the ousting of General CQ Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The administration has also removed the only two women serving in four-star roles, along with several other senior female officers, fueling concerns about gender bias and ideological litmus tests at the highest levels of military leadership.
In earlier remarks defending those firings, Hegseth said the changes reflected the administration’s commitment to “installing the right people to execute the national security approach we want to take.”
The Pentagon has not released a detailed list of which positions will be eliminated or restructured. However, the decision is expected to affect senior leadership across the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, potentially reshaping command structures and long-standing hierarchies.
Analysts note that while military reform is not uncommon, the scale and tone of the current reshuffle are unusual — particularly in the absence of a national security crisis or major strategic shift.
“This looks more like political consolidation than organizational streamlining,” said Nora Bensahel, a defense policy expert and former advisor to the Joint Staff. “The U.S. military has always maintained a careful separation from partisan politics. These moves blur that line.”
The administration has also faced pushback from within the ranks, with several retired officers and defense officials warning that morale and trust could suffer if promotions and dismissals are seen as politically motivated.
While Hegseth insists the cuts are about efficiency and modernization, the backlash underscores broader fears that the Trump administration is seeking to reshape the military into a more ideologically aligned institution — a move that critics argue could erode civilian-military relations and the apolitical nature of the armed forces.
The Defense Department has not responded to questions about whether additional senior leadership changes are planned.
