Image: The Hill

Defense Sec. Hegseth Fires Army Chief George Over Racial Quotas on Generals

04 April, 2026.USA.9 sources

Key Takeaways

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Army Chief Gen. Randy George to retire immediately.
George's departure follows a wave of senior officer firings under Hegseth amid Iran-war actions.
Pentagon posted gratitude and retirement wishes as George retires.

Abrupt Dismissal

Hegseth fired Army Chief George during the Iran war, Pentagon confirmed.

“Skip to main content Updated Apr 2, 2026 - World Hegseth removes Army's top general during Iran war Dave Lawler, Colin Demarest email (opens in new window) sms (opens in new window) facebook (opens in new window) twitter (opens in new window) linkedin (opens in new window) bluesky (opens in new window) Add Axios as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google”

Axios

George will be retiring effective immediately, just 20 months into a four-year post.

CBS News

Hegseth wants someone who will implement his and Trump's vision.

Republicans are rallying behind George as a steady and accomplished leader.

Racial Quotas Spark Firestorm

George and Driscoll refused to remove two Black and two female officers from the promotion list.

Most of the 29 other officers on the list are white men.

MPR News

Hegseth refused George's request to meet two weeks earlier.

NBC suggested Hegseth had a history of racial and gender discrimination.

Legacy and Impact

George began his career as an infantry officer with multiple deployments.

“en EnglishUnited States Deutsch English Español Français Italiano العربية All languages Afrikaans azərbaycan bosanski català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch eesti EnglishUnited Kingdom EspañolEspaña EspañolLatinoamérica euskara Filipino FrançaisCanada FrançaisFrance Gaeilge galego Hrvatski Indonesia isiZulu íslenska Italiano Kiswahili latviešu lietuvių magyar Melayu Nederlands norsk o‘zbek polski PortuguêsBrasil PortuguêsPortugal română shqip Slovenčina slovenščina srpski (latinica) Suomi Svenska Tiếng Việt Türkçe Ελληνικά беларуская български кыргызча қазақ тілі македонски монгол Русский српски Українська ქართული հայերեն עברית اردو العربية فارسی አማርኛ नेपाली मराठी हिन्दी অসমীয়া বাংলা ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ગુજરાતી ଓଡ଼ିଆ தமிழ் తెలుగు ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം සිංහල ไทย ລາວ မြန်မာ ខ្មែរ 한국어 日本語简体中文繁體中文繁體中文香港 Sign in Sign in”