U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has demanded the immediate resignation of Army Chief of Staff General Randy George, CBS reported, citing sources. According to one of those sources, the Pentagon chief wants someone in the post who is prepared to carry out the military vision of Donald Trump and Hegseth himself.
George took office in 2023 after being nominated by Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate. The Army chief of staff typically serves a four-year term, which would ordinarily have kept him in the position until 2027. Previously, he served as senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The most likely replacement is seen as Vice Chief of Staff General Christopher LaNeve, who previously served as Hegseth’s military assistant and once commanded the 82nd Airborne Division.
After George’s removal, Hegseth dismissed two more senior officers, The Washington Post reported: General David Hodne, who recently took command of Army Futures Command, and General William Green Jr., the Army’s chief chaplain.
As a result of these moves, the Pentagon’s top leadership has been almost completely reshaped. Of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in place when Hegseth took office in January 2025, only Marine Corps Commandant General Eric Smith and Space Force chief General B. Chance Saltzman have remained in their posts.
As The Washington Post notes, the sweeping personnel shake-up is unfolding as several thousand American troops are being deployed to the Middle East amid preparations for a possible ground operation against Iran. The newspaper stresses that such changes in military leadership, while not without precedent, are exceedingly rare on the eve of a potential conflict.
Sources also describe a prolonged clash between Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll—a Trump political appointee, Army veteran, and ally of Vice President J.D. Vance. “Hegseth can’t fire Driscoll. So he’s going to make his life hell,” one source said.