Pete Hegseth orders US military to cut number of generals

Move comes as questions swirl about Pentagon chief's use of Signal messaging app

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth at the Pentagon. He aims to reduce the number of high-ranking officers in the military. EPA

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday ordered the military to reduce the number of four-star generals and admirals by 20 per cent, deepening cuts at the Pentagon that have shaken the Department of Defence at the start of President Donald Trump's second term in office.

Mr Hegseth has long been vocal about how he believes there are too many officers in the most senior ranks of the military. There are about 800 general officers, but only 44 are four-star general or flag officers. The army has the largest number of general officers, with 219, including eight four-star generals.

Mr Hegseth, the embattled former Fox News host, has moved quickly to reshape the department, firing senior generals and admirals as he seeks to implement Mr Trump's national security agenda and root out diversity initiatives he says are discriminatory.

In a memo, Mr Hegseth said there would also be a minimum 20 per cent reduction in the number of general officers in the National Guard and an additional 10 cut among general and flag officers across the military.

“More generals and admirals does not lead to more success,” he said in a video posted on X. “This is not a slash and burn exercise meant to punish high-ranking officers, nothing could be further from the truth."

He added that he worked with the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the plan with the goal of “maximising strategic readiness".

At his confirmation hearing, Mr Hegseth stated there was “an inverse relationship between the size of staffs and victory on the battlefield". At the time, he said there were 44 four-star positions in the military. He has since removed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Navy's top admiral and the director of the National Security Agency.

Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island said he was sceptical of the plans and accused Mr Hegseth of having a track record of firing military leaders without cause.

“I have always advocated for efficiency at the Department of Defence, but tough personnel decisions should be based on facts and analysis, not arbitrary percentages,” said Mr Reed, the senior Democrat on the Senate armed services committee.

“Eliminating the positions of many of our most skilled and experienced officers without sound justification would not create ‘efficiency’ in the military – it could cripple it.”

Mr Hegseth is at the centre of a scandal involving his use of the Signal messaging app to discuss details of an imminent attack against Yemen's Houthi rebels. Other senior US officials have also face criticism for using Signal.

Mr Hegseth has used the commercial app for official Pentagon business in at least a dozen separate chats, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.