Pete Hegseth Fires Navy Chief of Staff in String of Firings and Resignations
- Elyse Shaffer
- 15 hours ago
- 3 min read
On October 3, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Navy Chief of Staff Jon Harrison. President Trump appointed Harrison to the role in January, 2025. Prior to this role, Harrison served during President Trump’s first candidacy as chairman of the United States Arctic Research Commission from 2020 to 2021.
Replacing Harrison as the Chief of Staff is Vice Admiral Jeffrey Czerewko, a Navy Veteran who assumed duties on August 1, 2025. The Pentagon confirmed Harrison’s departure in a statement: “He will no longer serve as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Navy,” a Defense Department official said. “We are grateful for his service to the Department.”
Although the Pentagon has not released any official reasons for Harrison’s firing, anonymous reports from within the department have indicated that the cause of firing may have been Harrison's attempts to undercut the role of Navy undersecretary Hung Cao. In line with the Trump Administration’s stated mission of cutting waste and increasing efficiency, Harrison (who was “an unusually powerful top aide”) focused on streamlining the Navy’s operations (including policy and budget), as well as attempting to limit Cao‘s power.
Cao is a former Republican Virginia Senate candidate and staunch Trump supporter. Along with Navy Secretary John Phelan, Harrison attempted to limit the undersecretary's role and reassigned Cao’s aides, presumably for political and ideological reasons. Reportedly, Cao, who has deep MAGA connections and a close relationship with President Trump, brought this to Hegseth, who consequentially fired Harrison. Harrison and Cao have both declined to comment on the issue.
Harrison’s abrupt firing is another in a string of sudden firings over the past few months by Hegseth in efforts to build a staff that more closely aligns with the Trump administration’s agenda and ideology. Included in this sequence of firings is Senior Advisor Dan Caldwell, Deputy Chief of Staff Darin Selnick and the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Colin Caroll, as well as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. CQ Brown and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti.
Anonymous reports from inside the Defense Department have indicated a crackdown by Hegseth and a serious growing culture of fear within the department. An anonymous Senior Defense Official remarked, “It’s better just to keep your head down and not necessarily try to do anything to the advantage of the organization, because it’s very much run from the top down.” This trend reflects, again, a larger movement by the Trump administration to fill the government with as many supporters of their administration as possible, and push out or fire anyone who does not fit this image.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly commented, “President Trump has full confidence in Secretary Hegseth and his ability to ensure individuals across the Department of War are aligned with the president’s mission to Make America Strong Again,” referring to the administration’s rebranded term for the Defense Department.
In Hegseth’s keynote speech to military commanders in Quantico, VA, on September 30, 2025, he referenced the recent firings. “As you have seen and the media has obsessed over, I have fired a number of senior officers since taking over,” Hegseth said. “The rationale, for me, has been straightforward: It’s nearly impossible to change a culture with the same people who helped create or even benefited from that culture, even if that culture was created by a previous president and previous secretary.” He fired Harrison three days later.
Notably, Hegseth’s speech also emphasized an end to diversity (namely gender and race-based hirings or promotions) and told military personnel to fall in line, with a “my way or the highway” message. He highlighted the importance of the military supporting the Trump administration’s efforts and their ideologies aligning. “If the words I’m speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign. We will thank you for your service,” he said.
In his most recent book, Hegseth wrote that “woke” generals and the leaders of the elite service academies have left the military dangerously weak and “effeminate” by promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. These actions are in line with the Trump administration’s trend of eliminating DEI and any threats to their leadership as well as quieting opposition, and may signal more firings or resignations of senior military leadership in the coming months.
More generally, the Trump administration’s mission to downsize and “cut waste” has notably led to a pattern of firings within the government and overhaul of the federal workforce. These mass layoffs and seemingly targeted firings are not limited to the Department of War, and will likely continue in the future as the Trump administration continues to tighten their budget and decrease the size of the federal government.