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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has mandated a 20% reduction in the number of four-star generals in the U.S. military.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Monday that the active-duty military must decrease the number of its four-star generals and flag officers by 20% to enhance efficiency.
In a memo, Hegseth detailed that this initial reduction would be followed by a second round of 10% cuts among top officers across all branches of the armed forces, including the National Guard.
These reductions are in addition to the dismissals of over half a dozen top generals since January, as President Trump’s administration, through the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aims to reduce excess spending from the federal budget.
Announcing the cuts, Hegseth stated they would eliminate “redundant force structure to optimize and streamline leadership” and were designed to rid the military of “unnecessary bureaucratic layers.”
“More generals and admirals do not lead to more success,” Hegseth stated in a video posted on X.
“This is not a slash and burn exercise meant to punish high ranking officers; nothing could be further from the truth,” he clarified.
Secretary Hegseth has been actively working to eliminate programs and leadership established to “support diversity in the ranks,” including efforts to remove transgender service members and implement broad changes to enforce a single fitness standard for all combat roles.
This policy aligns with the broader White House initiative to dismantle several of the Biden administration’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs across the federal government and the military.
Earlier this year, Trump dismissed the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Brown, the second African-American to hold that position. Brown had publicly voiced support for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in 2020.
As of May 2025, the U.S. military has approximately 653 active-duty generals and flag officers across all branches and ranks, according to data from Southwest Journal. Hegseth noted that 44 of these are four-star generals and flag officers.
The U.S. Army has the largest number of generals, with 231, including 11 four-star generals.
Despite the ongoing efforts to cut federal spending, the White House has approved a record defense budget of roughly $1 trillion, an increase from the current $894 billion.
China, the world’s second-largest defense spender, has allocated $256 billion for defense in 2025, while Russia, the third-largest, has budgeted $157 billion.