Military shakeup: Pete Hegseth fires navy chief of staff Jon Harrison; praises ‘service to department’

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday dismissed Navy Chief of Employees Jon Harrison, a robust aide who had overseen a significant reshaping of the service’s paperwork. The abrupt removing got here shortly after the Senate confirmed Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao earlier this week. “He’ll not function Chief of Employees to the Secretary of the Navy,” the Pentagon mentioned in a press release, confirming Harrison’s departure. “We’re grateful for his service to the Division.”

Harrison, working carefully with Navy Secretary John Phelan, spearheaded sweeping modifications to the service’s coverage and budgeting places of work whereas looking for to curb the undersecretary’s affect.Historically, the Navy secretary’s chief of employees operates as a behind-the-scenes aide, making certain the workplace runs easily. However Harrison, a Trump appointee who joined in January, wielded an uncommon diploma of authority.Phelan and Harrison earlier reassigned aides who have been meant to help Cao after his affirmation and deliberate to display all future army assistants to maintain management within the secretary’s workplace, as cited by Politico. Cao, a well known Navy veteran and former Republican Senate candidate from Virginia, was nominated by Trump.The transfer comes after Hegseth dismissed a number of senior aides and changed the chair of the Joint Chiefs, together with the uniformed leaders of the Navy, Air Drive, and Coast Guard earlier this 12 months. Trump has pledged to revitalize US shipbuilding, however the Navy’s largest applications stay years delayed, whereas each allies and adversaries are outpacing American shipyards.US President Donald Trump mentioned on Tuesday that he would dismiss senior army leaders in the event that they failed to satisfy his expectations, telling reporters forward of a uncommon assembly with high officers in Quantico, Virginia. “If I do not like someone, I’ll fireplace them proper on the spot,” he mentioned.Hegseth additionally criticized what he known as “woke” insurance policies within the US army, ordering leaders to deal with “a long time of decay.” He additionally issued directives for service members, instructing them to get match, minimize their hair, and shave their beards.