Hegseth asks top Army officer to step down
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George has been asked to retire, according to news reports that were confirmed by a Pentagon official.
As the chief of staff, George is the highest-ranking uniformed official for the service. His removal at the behest of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was first reported by CBS News.
“We can confirm the CBS report is true,” a Defense Department official said in a statement. “Nothing further to provide at the moment.”
Chef Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell also issued a statement on Thursday confirming that George is retiring.
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“General Randy A. George will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately,” Parnell posted on X on Thursday. “The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation. We wish him well in his retirement.”
A spokesperson for George could not be immediately reached.
George was appointed to the role by President Joe Biden and almost unanimously confirmed by the Senate in September 2023. The role is typically held for four years, meaning George would’ve retired in 2027.
He received a commission from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1988. Over the course of his career, George deployed and commanded units during operations in the Middle East, including Operation Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation Enduring Freedom. He also served as a senior military assistant to the secretary of defense and executive assistant to the commander of U.S. Central Command.
As chief of staff, George took on the role of modernizing the Army with new units outfitted with emerging technology through his brainchild, the Transformation in Contact initiative.
Since Hegseth became defense secretary in January 2025, a number of senior leaders from across the services have been fired or otherwise forced out, including former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Charles” CQ” Brown Jr., former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti, former Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Slife, Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, then serving as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and Navy Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, who was serving as U.S. representative to the NATO Military Committee.
UPDATE: 04/02/2026; this story was updated with a statement from Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell.