While Pete Hegseth purges decorated generals from the Pentagon, insiders say he’s replacing the vacuum with his wife, his brother, and close allies

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has removed 24 generals and senior commanders from their positions, with no performance-related reasons given. The wave of firings has caused serious concern inside the Pentagon, with many seeing it as an attempt to reshape the military according to his own vision.

Around 60% of those forced out have been Black or female, which some view as part of the administration’s broader push against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The most recent removal was Gen. Randy George, the Army Chief of Staff, who was ousted last month after he refused Hegseth’s order to strike four officers, two Black men and two women, from a list of prospective promotions.

The firings began in February last year with the removal of General CQ Brown as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Brown, who is Black and a distinguished former Air Force commander, was replaced by Dan Caine, a retired three-star general who had to be quickly promoted to earn the four-star rank needed for Senate confirmation, a position some observers say he lacks the necessary qualifications for, according to The Guardian.

Hegseth is filling the Pentagon with personal loyalists as fears grow over military independence

Among the female officers removed was Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to serve as Chief of Naval Operations and the first to sit on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Hegseth has shown no regret over the firings, claiming that the previous Pentagon leadership was “focused on height, social engineering, race, and gender in ways that we think were unhealthy.”

Insiders describe Hegseth as increasingly isolated within the Pentagon, surrounded by a small circle of friends and family. His wife, Jennifer, a former Fox News producer, has been seen accompanying him to official meetings, while his brother, Phil, has been appointed as a senior adviser. Other close allies include attorney Tim Parlatore, who has previously represented both Hegseth and Trump, and Ricky Buria, a former Marine to whom Hegseth has grown close.

Military analysts say the firings are in line with Project 2025, a blueprint drawn up by the right-wing Heritage Foundation that has closely guided Trump’s second-term policies. The project calls for removing “woke” senior officers with the goal of creating an ideologically loyal military that will be obedient to the president and his defense secretary.

The Pentagon’s day-to-day operations, meanwhile, are largely overseen by Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, a billionaire investment firm owner. Trump has also drawn attention beyond military matters, he recently called for mandatory cognitive testing for presidential candidates, boasting that he himself had passed such a test three times.

The removals have raised concerns about the military’s willingness to push back against Trump’s more impulsive decisions. Veterans are worried about the impact on rank-and-file troops, especially given the president’s threats involving Iran’s civilian infrastructure and language that some have described as hinting at war crimes. 

“It’s a really unhealthy environment when you’re afraid to speak your mind, and not just truth to power, but truth in the defense of the armed forces against stupid decisions,” said Paul Eaton, a retired Army Major-General who commanded US forces after the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

“For years, we’ve been told that we don’t have to worry about a crazy president launching a nuclear war, because the military would not carry out any illegal order,” said Joe Cirincione, a veteran national security analyst and nuclear non-proliferation expert. 

He added, “But that’s not real. What we’ve seen in the last year is the military repeatedly carrying out illegal orders. The attacks on the alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, the raid to seize [President Nicolas] Maduro in Venezuela, the war on Iran, have all been illegal, yet the military carried them all out.” There has been tensions within conservative media as well, with figures like Tucker Carlson facing scrutiny over past remarks about Trump that he later denied making.