QUANTICO, Va. — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday defended the Pentagon’s 20% cut to U.S. generals and admirals, telling 600 officers and service members at Marine Corps Base Quantico that the reductions were “accountability, and long overdue.”
“The number crunchers say that we fired 10% of the generals and admirals across the force, and that number sounds about right,” Hegseth said during his annual “State of the Force” address. “And I know because I directed it that we’ve also reduced the overall number of general officer slots by an additional 10%. So yes, 20% reduction across the board. Now, the media calls that a purge. I call it accountability, and long overdue.”
There are roughly 850 generals and admirals in active service. The cuts drew bipartisan criticism: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said Hegseth was “purging a generation of great leaders,” while Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said he wanted to see the reasoning first.
Transcript: “You see, the number crunchers say we fired 10% of the generals and admirals across the force. And that number sounds about right. And I know because I directed it, that we’ve also reduced the overall number of general officers slots by an additional 10%. So yes, 20% reduction across the board. Now, the media calls that a purge. I call it accountability and long overdue. And frankly, the bare minimum. As usual, what the media levels as an accusation, I wear as an accomplishment.”
Footage: U.S. Department of War — public domain.