Hegseth to Double Cuts to General and Admiral Ranks

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is preparing to expand his effort to shrink the military's senior leadership, with the Pentagon confirming he will use a Wednesday address to call for deeper reductions in the number of generals and admirals.

Under the plan, all military services would be directed to double the 10% cut Hegseth ordered last spring, turning it into a 20% overall reduction across roughly 800 flag and general officer positions. The drawdown is to be completed by Jan. 1, 2027.

The announcement is expected during a speech to troops at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia — the second consecutive year Hegseth has delivered what the Pentagon calls his "State of the Force" address. The reductions could affect any one-star general or above, or officers of equivalent Navy rank.

As part of last year's cuts, Hegseth also ordered the active-duty military to shed 20% of its four-star officers, the highest-level leaders, and the National Guard to cut 20% of its top positions. It remains unclear whether all of those reductions have been carried out.

When he first announced the effort to trim the upper ranks, Hegseth described it as a way to remove "redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership." A memo released in May 2025 said the goal was to free the military from "unnecessary bureaucratic layers."

The number of general officer positions is set by law, but the Pentagon can leave slots unfilled by declining to submit replacements to Congress.

Since taking office, President Donald Trump or Hegseth have fired or moved to retire more than two dozen military leaders, including the Army's top uniformed officer, Gen. Randy George, in April. They have also dismissed the only two women serving as four-star officers, along with a disproportionate number of other senior female officers.

Last year's address to assembled generals and admirals, in which Hegseth declared an end to "woke" culture and set new directives including "gender-neutral" or "male-level" physical fitness standards, was overshadowed by Trump's attendance. The president used the occasion to propose using American cities as training grounds for the armed forces and spoke of needing military might to counter what he called the "invasion from within."

Hegseth's relations with Congress are already strained. He faces articles of impeachment introduced by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky over his Pentagon leadership and his management of the Iran war. Meanwhile, Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who could become speaker if Democrats win control of the House in November, recently told reporters that impeaching members of Trump's Cabinet has neither been ruled out nor ruled in.