GOP rep on Hegseth firing Army chief of staff: ‘I will look into it immediately’

Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) on Thursday said he will “immediately” look into Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s recent decision to fire Army chief of staff Gen. Randy George.

“That would be very surprising to me,” McCormick told Newsmax’s Ed Henry, seemingly perplexed by the news. “I would look into it immediately because those are people I know very well.” 

Hegseth asked George, whose four-year term would not have been up until 2027, to step down and immediately retire, according to a Pentagon official who spoke to The Hill on Thursday.

McCormick, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, called the former chief of staff a “brilliant mind” and said he’d be “very curious to know why” the Biden appointee had been fired. 

“I’ve never heard him say anything contrary to what the president’s trying to achieve,” the Georgia Republican said. “I thought he’s done a really good job getting the Army ready for war. So, I’d like to hear more because that’s concerning to me.” 

The ouster was another marker of a recent pattern of tension between Hegseth and U.S. Army leadership. Since the start of his term, Hegseth has removed more than a dozen senior military officers including, most recently, Col. David Butler, a top adviser to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.

Alongside George, the Defense secretary also removed Maj. Gen. William Green, the Army’s chief of chaplains, and Gen. David Hodne, who has led the Army’s Transformation and Training Command since last year, from their roles, according to the Pentagon official.

Lt. Gen. Christopher LaNeve, the Army’s current vice chief of staff, will serve as the acting chief of staff. 

A source familiar with the decision told CBS News, who first reported on George’s firing, that Hegseth wanted someone for the role who would implement his and Trump’s vision for the forces.

“We are grateful for his service, but it was time for a leadership change in the Army,” a senior Defense Department official also reportedly told CBS.

The firing comes amid the ongoing U.S. military operation in Iran. An American fighter jet was reportedly struck down by Tehran earlier on Friday. 

“Hegseth and Trump firing the highest ranking Army officer, in the middle of a war they started, shows you exactly where their priorities are,” Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), who also sits on the Armed Services Committee, said Thursday on the social platform X.

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