Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George on Thursday and asked him to retire immediately, removing the service’s top uniformed officer in the latest shake-up at the Pentagon.
Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed the departure in a statement: “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.”
George, a career infantry officer with combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, was nominated by President Joe Biden in 2023 and confirmed by the Senate to a four-year term that had been expected to run through roughly 2027.
The move comes as the U.S. military remains in active combat operations against Iran and amid growing reported tensions between Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. Hegseth recently intervened personally to remove several Army officers from a promotion list after Driscoll declined to do so, an unusual step that drew White House attention. The White House reviews senior military promotion lists before they are forwarded to the Senate.
George’s ouster is the latest in a string of senior military leadership changes Hegseth has driven since taking over the Pentagon. Earlier in the second Trump administration, Hegseth pushed out former Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti. He also replaced the Army’s vice chief of staff earlier in 2026 and removed Lt. Gen. Jennifer Short from her role as senior military assistant, replacing her with close allies.
