Reed Statement on Hegseth’s Reported Plan to Cut 20 Percent of General and Flag Officer Positions

WASHINGTON, DC —Today, press reports indicated that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth intends to announce a 20 percent reduction in general and flag officer positions, to be completed by January 1, 2027. The reduction would double the 10 percent target he set last year. In response, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), the Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued the following statement: “Throughout his tenure, Secretary Hegseth has taken countless reckless, partisan actions that have damaged our military. He has ended the careers of dozens of our most accomplished senior officers and refused to explain why. Today’s news should alarm every American. “Efficiency and streamlining in the military are worthy goals, but the size and structure of our military’s senior officer corps are matters in which Congress has a fundamental role. Article I of the Constitution assigns Congress the power to raise and support the armed forces and to make rules for their government. Reshaping the senior leadership of the world’s most powerful military is precisely the kind of decision that requires consultation with and justification to Congress. “Congress has been clear with the Secretary that he must consult this body and explain his reasoning for senior officer removals and promotion holds. To date, we have not received satisfactory answers. The Secretary’s history of obfuscation around this issue gives us cause for skepticism, and it is his burden to dispel it. “Our military is conducting major operations around the world, and the force is already under strain. Eliminating senior positions and leaders now will add to that strain and disrupt command when continuity matters most. “The Secretary has said this is a deliberative process aimed at readiness. If so, he should welcome the chance to show his work. I call on Secretary Hegseth to provide the relevant committees, in writing and before any further implementation, the analysis behind these reductions, the criteria used in the dismissals and promotion holds to date, and a full accounting of how each decision serves readiness. The men and women who serve, and the Americans they defend, deserve nothing less.”