Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to announce a 20 percent reduction in admiral and general slots at the Pentagon, marking a significant escalation in his campaign to reshape the department’s senior leadership.
Two Pentagon officials confirmed to The Hill that the cuts will affect senior leadership positions across the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
Hegseth is expected to formally announce the reductions during his State of the Force address at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, on Wednesday.
The address, directed at junior officers and enlisted leaders, will outline the Defense secretary’s broader priorities for the Pentagon in the coming months, including the sweeping leadership restructuring.
Service branches have been requested to implement the cuts by January 1, with some positions set to be downgraded rather than eliminated outright, according to memos reviewed by Fox News Digital, which first reported the announcement.
This latest round of cuts follows a directive Hegseth issued in May 2025, ordering Pentagon leadership to reduce general officers in the National Guard by at least 20 percent and cut the total number of general and flag officers by 10 percent.
His May order stated his intent to achieve “Less Generals, more GIs” and to “shift resources from bloated headquarters elements to our warfighters.”
Hegseth argued the reductions were necessary to remove “redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership by reducing excess general and flag officer positions.”
The Defense secretary has also moved to block promotions of officers slated for advancement to one- and two-star general ranks, asserting that military leaders serve at the pleasure of the president.
The Pentagon chief’s actions have drawn sharp criticism from members of both chambers of Congress, including from within his own party.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, voiced alarm over the removal of senior officers and the blocking of lower-ranked personnel promotions during a July hearing, stating, “I find this deeply troubling. These are men and women who volunteered to serve our country and swore an oath to support and defend our Constitution.”
Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, warned during an April hearing that Hegseth’s dismissal of Gen. Randy George, the U.S. Army’s former chief of staff, would have a “chilling effect” on the way the armed services operate.
The moves collectively represent the most aggressive consolidation of the Pentagon’s senior military leadership structure in recent memory, raising questions among lawmakers about readiness and institutional stability.
