As part of deep cuts at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a 20 percent reduction in the number of four-star officers, the military’s highest rank.
Hegseth says the move will increase efficiency, but critics worry it could create a politicized military.
In addition to cutting one in five senior positions, the U.S. Defense Secretary has also ordered a 10 percent reduction in the number of general officers across the military.
There are currently more than 800 general-level officers in the U.S., including 44 in four-star positions.
In a memo announcing the cuts on Monday, Hegseth said his goal was to rid the military of “unnecessary layers of bureaucracy.”
But Seth Moulton, a Democratic congressman who served as a Marine in Iraq and now sits on the House Armed Services Committee, said Hegseth’s actions were an attempt to politicize the military.
“He’s creating a formal framework to fire any general who disagrees with him and the president,” Moulton said.
Trump or Hegseth have already fired some of the nation’s top generals since January, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr.
They’ve also fired two female four-star officers and several other senior female officers.
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