WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has dismissed three senior military officials, including the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, in a move that underscores the Trump administration’s continued reshaping of the Pentagon and intelligence community.
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, who had led the Defense Intelligence Agency, was removed from his post after the agency’s initial assessment of U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities contradicted President Trump’s claims of total destruction, according to two officials briefed on the decision. His ouster was accompanied by the firings of Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, the chief of the Navy Reserve, and Rear Adm. Milton Sands, commander of Naval Special Warfare Command.
The Pentagon has not offered an explanation for the dismissals, which were confirmed by officials speaking on condition of anonymity. But the timing suggests they are part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to sideline military and intelligence leaders whose findings or views diverge from the president’s own.
The dismissals follow a preliminary intelligence assessment that concluded U.S. strikes in June had only modestly delayed Iran’s nuclear program — contradicting Mr. Trump’s assertion that the program had been “completely obliterated.” The report, which aligned with longstanding skepticism inside the intelligence community about the durability of military action against Iran, drew sharp rebukes from both Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.
At a June news conference, Mr. Hegseth defended the strikes, calling them a “historic success,” though he provided no evidence to rebut the DIA’s assessment.
Democrats in Congress have seized on the firings as further evidence of what they see as the administration’s politicization of intelligence.
“The dismissal of yet another senior national security official reflects this administration’s dangerous insistence on loyalty tests over objective analysis,” said Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut warned that without a clear explanation, the move “creates an atmosphere of fear” across the intelligence community.
The shake-ups come during a week of broader restructuring. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence announced cuts to staff and budget, while revoking additional security clearances. At the Pentagon, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin signaled his early retirement.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Hegseth have shown a willingness to dismiss high-ranking officers, often abruptly and without explanation. Earlier this year, Gen. Tim Haugh was removed as head of the National Security Agency, while Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, a senior NATO official, was forced out.
Some of the ousted officers were believed to have supported diversity and inclusion initiatives that the administration has sought to eliminate. Mr. Trump has repeatedly pressed agencies to strip such programs, portraying them as ideological rather than operational priorities.
Taken together, the moves deepen concerns within Washington that dissenting views inside the government — particularly those on national security — are being systematically marginalized.