GOP chairman Tom Cole: Randy George dismissal 'a real loss' |
GOP chairman Tom Cole: Randy George dismissal ‘a real loss’
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said that the ouster of the Army’s chief of staff, Gen. Randy George, is a “real loss” for the military during a hearing with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.
“I just want the record to reflect how much we regret. I personally regret, at least he’s no longer in active service. He’s a real loss to us, in my opinion,” Cole, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said Thursday morning.
“But again, I’m sure the successor will be equally capable. We’ve had a long train of really fine officers from the army come, and I have high confidence that the successor will do well. But General George is a real loss, and I think Great American,” the chairman said during the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
George, who served more than four decades in the Army and is a well-respected military leader, was ousted earlier this month at the request of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The removal of George caught many at the Pentagon by surprise, and even some Republicans came out in support of the general when his removal became public. George’s exit came as the U.S. was striking military targets in Iran.
The topic of his removal came up on Wednesday during the House Armed Services subcommittee hearing when Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) asked Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the acting Army chief of staff, why his predecessor was axed by Hegseth.
“That’s a question for Secretary Hegseth,” LaNeve told Scott. “I’ve been the vice for a couple of months now. We honored the service of Gen. George and his wife.”
“I would like for Secretary Hegseth to answer the reason why they were dismissed,” Scott said. And I think that the way Gen. George and his wife Patty were treated will have a chilling effect on the way our services operate in the future.”
A Pentagon official told The Hill on Wednesday that the Defense Department has been in contact with Scott’s office since George’s ouster.
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