Hegseth ousts Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to step down and take immediate retirement, sources familiar with the decision told CBS News. 

One of the sources said Hegseth wants someone in the role who will implement President Trump and Hegseth’s vision for the Army. 

A senior Defense Department official told CBS News, “We are grateful for his service, but it was time for a leadership change in the Army.” 

George previously served as the senior military assistant to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin from 2021-2022, during the Biden administration, after decades of service. A career infantry officer and West Point graduate, George first served in the first Gulf War and the more recent conflicts of Iraq and Afghanistan. 

The Army chief of staff typically serves a four-year term. George was nominated for the position by President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2023, meaning he would typically have held the position until 2027. 

The current vice chief of staff of the Army, Gen. Christopher LaNeve, who was formerly Hegseth’s military aide, will likely be considered as a replacement. He previously served as the commanding general of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division from 2022 to 2023.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point posted photos on social media on Thursday of George, saying he “shared experience-driven guidance with cadets preparing to lead” during a visit. 

According to his biography on the Army’s website, George received his commission as an infantry officer from West Point in 1988 and deployed during Operation Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. Before serving as Army chief of staff, he was vice chief of staff of the Army from 2022 to 2023. 

Hegseth has fired over a dozen senior military officers, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife and the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse. 

The ouster follows Hegseth’s X post lifting the suspension of the aircrew that flew by Kid Rock’s house in Nashville last weekend. After the Army announced the suspension of the aviators involved and an administrative review, Hegseth overruled the Army, writing on his personal X account, “No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, patriots.” 

Hegseth’s decision to ask George to exit wasn’t related to the helicopter incident, one of the sources said.