US War Secretary Pete Hegseth fires American army chief in latest removal amid Iran war

It is not yet known why Mr Hegseth has decided to fire General George.

General George, an infantry officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was confirmed to the top Army post in 2023. Terms in that role usually run for four years.

Prior to holding the top job, General George was the vice chief of the Army and, before that, the senior military adviser to then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

General George's removal is the latest in a series of firings at all levels of leadership at the Pentagon, including the removal last year of the previous chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General CQ Brown, as well as the chief of naval operations and Air Force vice-chief of staff.

The current vice chief of staff of the army, General Christopher LaNeve, who was formerly Hegseth's military aide, will be acting army chief of staff.

He previously served as the commanding general of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division from 2022 to 2023.

A Pentagon official told CBS News: "We are grateful for his service, but it was time for a leadership change in the Army.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that General LaNeve is "a battle-tested leader with decades of operational experience and is completely trusted by Secretary Hegseth to carry out the vision of this administration without fault."

Secretary Hegseth has recently declined to reaffirm the US commitment to Nato's collective defense, a concept that lies at the heart of the alliance.

Pressed about President Donald Trump's comments, he was considering pulling the US out of the alliance, Secretary Hegseth said: "As far as Nato is concerned, that's a decision that will be left to the president. But I'll just say a lot has been laid bare.You don't have much of an alliance if you have countries that are not willing to stand with you when you need them."

It is the second high level Washington sacking today after President Trump ousted Attorney General Pam Bondi.

President Trump also felt Mrs Bondi was not moving quickly enough to prosecute critics and adversaries whom he wanted to face criminal charges, according to sources.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, a former personal lawyer to President Trump, will lead the Justice Department temporarily.

In the post, President Trump praised Mrs Bondi as a "Great American Patriot and a loyal friend" who had overseen a "massive crackdown in Crime", adding she will soon move to a job in the private sector, but he gave no further details.

In her own social media post, Mrs Bondi said: "Leading President Trump’s historic and highly successful efforts to make America safer and more secure has been the honor of a lifetime."

She said she would spend the next month transitioning the role to Blanche. On social media, Blanche thanked Trump and praised Bondi, promising to do "everything in our power to keep America safe."

During her tenure as the top US law enforcement official, Mrs Bondi was an outspoken champion of President Trump’s agenda and dismantled the Justice Department’s longstanding tradition of independence from the White House in its investigations.

However, it was repeated criticism over the Epstein files, including from Mr Trump allies and some Republican lawmakers, that came to dominate her tenure.

She was accused of covering up or mismanaging the release of records on the Department of Justice's sex-trafficking investigations into Epstein, a financier who cultivated ties to wealthy and powerful figures.