US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered a 20% reduction of four-star officers — the military's top rank — as part of his deep cuts at the Pentagon.
Hegseth said the move will promote efficiency but critics worry it could create a politicised army.
As well as slashing one in five top positions, the US defence secretary has ordered the number of generals across the military to be reduced by 10%.
There are currently more than 800 general-level officers in the US, 44 of whom hold four-star positions.
In a memo announcing the cuts on Monday, Hegseth said his aim was to free the military from “unnecessary bureaucratic layers".
However, Democratic congressman Seth Moulton, who served as a marine in Iraq and is now on the House Armed Services Committee, claimed Hegseth's actions were an attempt to politicise the military.
“He’s creating a formal framework to fire all the generals who disagree with him — and the president,” Moulton said.
Trump or Hegseth have already fired some of the country's top generals since January, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. CQ Brown Jr.
They also have fired the only two women serving as four-star officers, as well as a disproportionate number of other senior female officers.
In the earlier rounds of firing, Hegseth said the eliminations were “a reflection of the president wanting the right people around him to execute the national security approach we want to take".
