US defence secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday dismissed Navy Chief of Staff Jon Harrison, a powerful aide who had overseen a major reshaping of the service’s bureaucracy. The abrupt removal came shortly after the Senate confirmed Navy Undersecretary Hung Cao earlier this week.
“He will no longer serve as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Navy,” the Pentagon said in a statement, confirming Harrison’s departure. “We are grateful for his service to the Department.”
Harrison, working closely with Navy Secretary John Phelan, spearheaded sweeping changes to the service’s policy and budgeting offices while seeking to curb the undersecretary’s influence.
Traditionally, the Navy secretary’s chief of staff operates as a behind-the-scenes aide, ensuring the office runs smoothly. But Harrison, a Trump appointee who joined in January, wielded an unusual degree of authority.
Phelan and Harrison earlier reassigned aides who were meant to support Cao after his confirmation and planned to screen all future military assistants to keep control in the secretary’s office, as cited by Politico. Cao, a well-known Navy veteran and former Republican Senate candidate from Virginia, was nominated by Trump.
The move comes after Hegseth dismissed several senior aides and replaced the chair of the Joint Chiefs, along with the uniformed leaders of the Navy,
Air Force, and Coast Guard earlier this year.
Trump has pledged to revitalize US shipbuilding, but the Navy’s largest programs remain years behind schedule, while both allies and adversaries are outpacing American shipyards.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he would dismiss senior military leaders if they failed to meet his expectations, telling reporters ahead of a rare meeting with top officers in Quantico, Virginia.
“If I don't like somebody, I'm going to fire them right on the spot,” he said.
Hegseth also criticized what he called “woke” policies in the US military, ordering leaders to address “decades of decay.” He also issued directives for service members, instructing them to get fit, cut their hair, and shave their beards.
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