The alarming reason behind Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth pushing out the U.S. Army’s highest-ranking officer during wartime has been leaked.
Hegseth, 45, asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George, 61, to quit his role and take immediate retirement, according to reporting by CBS News on Thursday.
That was followed by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell releasing a statement on X that read, “General Randy A. George will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately. The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement.”
However, a new report claims George was removed because he and Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll refused to remove two Black and two female officers from a list of military members to be promoted to one-star generals.
George and Driscoll defied Hegseth, according to The New York Times, and cited the long and exemplary service of the four officers as justification for their being in line for promotion.
The publication said most of the 29 other officers on the list for promotion are white men, leading some senior military officials to question whether the four officers were being singled out for their race or gender.
Hegseth refused Gen. George’s request to meet two weeks ago to discuss the four officers set to be booted from the promotion list, military officials told the Times. George also reportedly wanted to raise the issue of Hegseth “interfering unnecessarily” with Army personnel decisions at the meeting that the defense secretary declined.
A report by NBC on Thursday suggested Hegseth had a history of racial and gender discrimination when it came to military promotions of qualified officers in the Army, the Air Force, the Marines, and the Navy.
Nine U.S. officials familiar with the matter said Hegseth had either blocked or delayed promotions for more than a dozen Black and female senior officers across all four branches of the military.
The officials suggested the individuals had been targeted by Hegseth because of their race, gender, or links to Biden administration policies.
Hegseth’s intervention in the promotion process has raised concerns, with one U.S. official stating, “There is not a single service that has been immune to this level of involvement by Hegseth.”
Since taking over his role leading the Pentagon, Hegseth has been outspoken about ending “wokeness” at the department and eliminating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs.
Speaking in February last year, Hegseth said, “I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is ‘our diversity is our strength.’”
Hegseth also oversaw the removal of two other Army officers on Thursday, Gen. David Hodne, who ran the Army’s Transformation and Training Command, and Maj. Gen. William Green, a Baptist minister who steered the Army’s Chaplain Corps. A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed the exits to the Daily Beast.
Hodne’s command had been created under George’s watch, according to The Washington Post, while the deeply religious evangelical Christian Hegseth has aimed to overhaul how military chaplains operate.
The Secretary of Defense caused controversy when he invited Christian nationalist Pastor Doug Wilson to speak at the Pentagon’s monthly worship service, which Hegseth launched. Wilson has pushed for a return to patriarchal values, including scrapping women’s right to vote.
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Pentagon and the Army for comment.
Hegseth, who has christened himself the “Secretary of War,” reportedly wanted to oust George to install someone to put his own Army agenda into action, as well as follow the wishes of President Trump, a source told CBS News.
“We are grateful for his service, but it was time for a leadership change in the Army,” a senior Defense Department official told the outlet of the Purple Heart recipient.
CNN has reported that George will be replaced by Gen. Chris LaNeve as the new Army Chief of Staff, who is already firmly on Trump’s radar.
LaNeve quickly proved his dedication to Trump with a gushing exchange at the Commander in Chief’s Ball, held in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 20, 2025, following his inauguration.
At the event, where Trump and JD Vance cut a cake with swords, LaNeve called into the ball with his troops from South Korea as part of a teleconference, saying it was a “profound honor” to stand before the president.
After congratulating him on his election victory, LaNeve told Trump, “Sir, every day we train, we stay hard, we plan for anything that you possibly could need us to do. The alliance is strong. We’re ready to receive you, Mr. President.”
An ego-stroked Trump gushed, “Is this man central casting or what? If I’m doing a movie, I’d pick him to play my lead.”
The president then continued to flatter LaNeve, saying, “They’re not going to play games with you. That’s good. I like to see that. Nobody is playing games with that man.” He then added, “You look really sharp, really special, and you are a special guy.”